 "Twitter photos show Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand")
Where IS Rahul Gandhi?
That is the question on the mind of anyone that follows Indian politics after photos of him appeared on Twitter this morning claiming the Congress Party vice president was in the foothills of Uttarakhand.
The photos were tweeted earlier this morning by a Congress worker, Jagdish Kumar Sharma, who goes by the handle @jagdishkumarsh4 on the micro-blogging platform.
The photos also seem to belie rumours that Rahul Gandhi had gone to Thailand, and thereon to Greece.
Interestingly, Sharma's profile picture on Twitter has neither Rahul nor Congress president Sonia Gandhi on it. Instead, a headshot of himself is the centrepiece, flanked by portrait shots of Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra on either side, with a logo of the National Trade Union Congress in the background off to one side.
The photos also seem to belie rumours that Rahul Gandhi had gone to Thailand, and thereon to Greece.
Interestingly, Sharma's profile picture on Twitter has neither Rahul nor Congress president Sonia Gandhi on it. Instead, a headshot of himself is the centrepiece, flanked by portrait shots of Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra on either side, with a logo of the National Trade Union Congress in the background off to one side.
Sharma released the pictures on Twitter showing Gandhi camping in the hills, even as #WhereisRahul continued to trend on Twitter in fourth place nationwide.
"Rahul Gandhi is in Uttarakhand. He will stay there for four-five days," he told television news channel Times Now.
The Congress party, which has already defended Gandhi's leave during the budget session saying he was going to reflect and chart a course for the future of the party, refused to comment on the photos.
"These days anyone can post anything on social media. We won't comment on it. We have already said earlier that he has gone to introspect," Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said.
The Gandhi scion's absence at the beginning of a crucial Budget session in Parliament has already drawn sharp criticism from many quarters, adding to doubts about his willingness and ability to lead the party at some future point of time. Earlier this month, the Congress party crashed to its worst ever showing in Delhi, failing to win even a single seat in the 70-strong House, the first time that it will not have a member in the Assembly. The Delhi drubbing followed a string of electoral losses, including the Lok Sabha general elections in May last year, in states such as Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir.