New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah, jubilant after the party’s stellar show in three northeastern states, took a dig at his Congress counterpart Rahul Gandhi, who was missing in action on Saturday as he flew to Italy to be with his grandmother for the Holi weekend.
“Italy mein chunaav bhi to hain (There are elections in Italy too),” he said while addressing a press conference. As his audience burst into laughter, he added, “I received a message on WhatsApp that elections are being held in Italy. I don’t know.”
Rahul Gandhi had jetted off to Italy on Thursday to spend the weekend with his 93-year-old maternal grandmother. In a tweet, he had revealed that it was a surprise visit for her.
“My Nani is 93. She's the kindest soul ever. This Holi weekend, I'm going to surprise her! I can't wait to give her a hug... Happy Holi to all of you. Have a joyful celebration,” he wrote.
But his visit meant he was not present when the results to the elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland were declared, giving the BJP ammunition to attack him.
Union minister Giriraj Singh also took a swipe at Rahul, declaring him a "master election strategist" – alluding that he left the country at a time when election results in three states were due because he knew the results would be bad.
“Rahul Gandhi is a master election strategist… he knows when to run away from India now,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who is in Meghalaya to stitch an alliance, jumped to the Congress chief’s defence, and asked Singh if it was a crime for Rahul to visit his own grandmother.
“Absolutely baseless. Is it a crime for someone to visit his own grandmother? It has become a profession for him to make unnecessary comments," Patel said.
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