Rahul Gandhi flies out of country, keeps security personnel guessing

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took off from India on the night of December 31 when the country was welcoming the New Year amid nationwide protests against the new citizenship law (CAA).

There was no confirmation on Rahul Gandhi’s departure on an Air India flight. Insiders said he had left for Italy to meet his grandmother. Then, he would travel to London and a couple of other European countries before returning to India. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) had not released any programme but sources said his sister Priyanka Gandhi would hold fort in his absence as Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi would leave for Goa soon. She had severe asthma and doctors had advised her to a place where the weather could be milder than Delhi. Priyanka Gandhi will stay put in Delhi and guide the campaign against the CAA.

Rahul Gandhi had travelled to South Korea to meet the country’s prime minister early last month. That was his only official engagement but he stayed put for five days when the country was seeing huge protests against the citizenship law.

Also Read: Is Rahul Gandhi’s focus on national politics going to cost him Kerala?

Rahul Gandhi has done it again and his foreign visits have always been a matter of concern for the security forces. The Modi government had recently withdrawn the SPG cover for Rahul and the Gandhi family and sources said it was partly due to the erratic manner in which he moved from place to place, giving little or no time for security agencies to do advance security liaisons.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in Parliament that some SPG protectees had left the SPG cover behind and left for unknown destinations without informing the security forces. Now, the family is protected by the CRPF in collaboration with the Delhi Police. It is not known if Rahul Gandhi had informed the CRPF security in charge of his foreign travel and his date of return.