Where is Rahul Gandhi? Congress leader's absence from CJP protest sparks questions, Wangchuk's ‘pettiness’ jibe

COngress leader Rahul mrs. Gandhi has non been seen, neither at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in back up of roach Janta Party's dissent against exam irregularities, nor in Wayanad where a landslide last week claimed at least eight lives.While Rahul has vehemently criticised the BJP government over its handling of NEET exam irregularities and even interacted withe students in Kota, India's entrance exam coaching hub, in recent weeks, his immediate physical absence from the CJP protest in Delhi has raised questions, with activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, saying that it will be the Opposition parties' “pettiness” if they do not participate in the youth-led protests.Also read: Samay Raina 'has taken court for a ride': Supreme Court raps comedian; imposes fine on him, 4 othersWangchuk, in an interview with The Indian Express, said the people will reject the Opposition, including the Congress, if they fail to show support for the protest that started with the Cockroach Janta Party's call over NEET exam irregularities.Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike for over two weeks now and the protest is being seen as a rare show of defiance against Modi government.Also read: Sonam Wangchuk not alone, student activists running a parallel hunger strike at Jantar MantarRahul is scheduled to hold a public meeting with students in Dehradun on July 17 as the Congress has been running its own campaign, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Voice of the Students), seeking Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over paper leaks — a demand that's central for the CJP too.BJP attacks on Wayanad issueThe ruling BJP, which has not spoken of any possible talks betwen the CJP and the government, found a separate opportunity to corner Rahul Gandhi — over his absence from Wayanad, one of the two Lok Sabha constituencies that he won in the 2024 Parliament elections that's now represented by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While he retained the Amethi seat, his family's conventional stronghold, he handed Wayanad to his sister.As the two haven't been seen in Wayanad, the BJP made a poetic jibe at Rahul with popular Bollywood film song lyrics: "Chithhi na koi sandesh, jaane wo kaun sa desh, jahaan tum chale gaye (No letter, no message, who knows which country you've gone off to)."Also read: 'Hold Pakistan responsible': India's global appeal over use of force against PoK protests“In this era of social media nowadays, where people update their tiniest life moments and trips online, meanwhile, India's Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has been completely out of sight from the public scene for the past 20 days," the BJP posted on its official X handle."No information has been shared about which country he is in or when he will return. In a democracy, the public expects transparency from its leaders at every step, especially when they are the biggest face of the country's second-largest political party. The Congress party, which is constantly aggressive about the government's policies and the Prime Minister's tours, why is it so silent on its leader's this long absence?” it added.Also read: ‘Govt does not care’: Calls for Sonam Wangchuk to end hunger strike grow; Mahua, Uddhav, Dipke issue appealsThe government has, however, not held any talks with the CJP protesters, including Wangchuk who was recently jailed for six months over protests in Ladakh. BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi also made blistering attack on Rahul and Priyanka and said that the siblings are absent when "Wayanad grapples with the tragic disaster of heavy rains and landslides".“The people of Wayanad and Kerala want to know where their MPs are in this hour of crisis. It's not even known in which corner of the world they are. Those who gained a political base from Wayanad are not to be seen on the ground in its most difficult time today. This seems like a tragic joke with the people of Wayanad and Kerala, for which the Gandhi family should apologize to the people of Wayanad and Kerala," Trivedi wrote on X. Meanwhile, on the CJP issue, on Monday Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray called on Rahul to visit and show support for the ongoing protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Thackeray expressed his support for the outfit and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk as he called for more support for the protest.“I will also go. Rahul Gandhi ji should also go. All those who have faith in the country's youth should go. People across the entire country should come out on the streets and support them,” he said.Thackeray is scheduled to travel to Delhi on July 20 to visit Jantar Mantar and join the ongoing protest.While several opposition leaders have backed the satirically named protest outfit Cockroach Janta Party, the Congress is yet to publicly announce its support, though it has been raising the same issue for months now.Leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI and others have either expressed their solidarity or visited the protest site at Jantar Mantar.AAP's MP Sanjay Singh and former Delhi CM Atishi; TMC's Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, CPI(M)'s MA Baby, Brinda Karat, and Kerala leader KK Shailaja, are among the many names who have backed the online outfit.