Not another holiday

When Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi suddenly left for foreign shores on Tuesday in the midst of the Bihar Assembly poll slugfest, eyebrows were raised, with the Bharatiya Janata Party rank and file, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises minister Giriraj Singh, taking a dig at the Congress scion. Gandhi's last sabbatical of 56 days was severely criticised. This time, the Congress communications department was compelled to clarify that Gandhi would be attending a conference, 'Weekend with Charlie Rose', in Aspen, Colorado, along with eminent leaders "to deliberate on ideas and innovations". Rose is a celebrated journalist and co-host of CBS This Morning. The venue for the conference is a picturesque ski resort town and popular year-round destination in Colarado's Rocky Mountains.