BJP attacks Rahul, Priyanka over absence from landslide-hit Wayanad

New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) The BJP on Monday attacked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for not visiting the landslide-hit Wayanad despite several people dying in the July 7 tragedy. The ruling party at the Centre said their "insensitivity and apathy" demand a clear and categorical apology from the Gandhi family. There was no immediate reaction from Congress to the BJP's attack. The party also asked Rahul Gandhi to disclose details of his recent foreign trip, which it said has been "shrouded in mystery." It asserted that the public is entitled to know whether any of his overseas engagements has a "bearing on India's political or strategic interests." BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said Rahul Gandhi, who represented Wayanad in the Lok Sabha before vacating the seat, promised that the constituency would have "two MPs" after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was elected from there. "Rahul Gandhi ji is not on the ground. When he left the constituency and passed the baton to his sister Priyanka Gandhi ji, he openly said: 'Now Wayanad will be having two MPs.' But unfortunately, both the MPs, who belong to the Gandhi family, are not visible at all on the ground. This is a deceit to the people of Wayanad and the people of Kerala," he told PTI Videos. Trivedi questioned Gandhi's absence from public view and his reported foreign travel to claim that the Congress leader's location will become known once he makes "anti-India" statements from abroad. "At times, people of some constituencies feel that their MP is absconding. But here the case is more peculiar: An MP is absconding from the country!" he said. Trivedi said no amount of defence by Jairam Ramesh, whom he called Rahul Gandhi's "friend, philosopher and guide", can cover up the Gandhi siblings' failure to discharge their duties towards the people of Wayanad. "Though Jairam Ramesh ji is a well-read person, all his intelligence and knowledge will not be able to overcome the injustice which has been done to the people of Wayanad and the misconduct of Rahul Gandhi. Whatever Jairam Ramesh ji's doing, it is nothing but a fig leaf cover on a monumental failure," he added. BJP IT department head Amit Malviya demanded that Rahul Gandhi disclose details of his foreign travel between June 22 and July 13. "Rahul Gandhi's foreign trip between June 22 and July 13 remains shrouded in mystery. Where did he go? Who did he meet? Who sponsored his travel and stay?" Malviya said in a post on X. "These are legitimate questions that the Leader of the Opposition should come clean about. The public is entitled to know whether his overseas engagements involved meetings that could have a bearing on India's political or strategic interests," he added. BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has not visited her constituency even six days after the landslide, and accused the siblings of enjoying "entitlement without accountability." Shehzad Poonawalla, another party national spokesperson, joined his party colleagues in attacking Rahul and Priyanka. "Rahul, Priyanka use and throw model. Days after the latest Wayanad landslide claimed lives and caused widespread devastation, neither Rahul Gandhi nor Priyanka Vadra has found the time to visit the affected area or meet the victims. Once the election was over, their work in Wayanad was over too," he said on X. PTI ADI VN VN