It did not make much difference to aam aadmi but gave rise to huge sound bites. Rahul Gandhi is missing from budget session of parliament.

During this time of hectic activity, the vice president of a major party decides to take a ‘reflective vacation’, to ‘reflect’ and ‘think’ about the party’s future.

Everybody takes as vacation but why target the Gandhi scion. Just minutes after this announcement the social media went berserk and launched scathing attacks on Gandhi for vacationing at such politically significant period.

The timing of Rahul Gandhi’s sabbatical is obviously not right. The party is yet to recover from the debacle of May 2014 general elections and its disastrous performance in the Delhi elections. This was the time when the Congress party needed him the most. But is it really the scene? Is the party really missing his presence? Could he have been his party’s saving grace?

Critics argue that he has missed a perfect opportunity to attack the Modi government during the budget session. But, when did Rahul make a mark in parliament? Do you remember? We don’t.

In fact, he has been under constant fire for his repeated absence from the parliament and being a reluctant leader.

Rahul Gandhi could have taken up the cause of farmers considering that it was the Congress party that framed the original land acquisition bill and that he has been tagged to farmers struggle in UP.

Look at Arvind Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal, who has just two years of political experience, has emerged as a more seasoned politician than Rahul Gandhi, who has a prominent political dynasty behind him.  Kejriwal identified himself with farmers when he climbed the platform of Anna Hazare’s fight against the land bill.

Rahul has been credited with recent changes in the party state units. Five states got new heads fo the regional Congress units. It is being attributed to Rahul’s hand. There is speculation that the party will hold his coronation after his sabbatical. Does this means that Gandhi’s vacation is kind of a veiled threat to the party to appoint him as its chief so that he can take ‘tough’ decisions ‘independently’.

Whatever be the reason, hope his reflections transform him into an enlightened one.