Shivraj Chouhan fires '9 2 11' jibe as Rahul Gandhi flies off ahead of Cong foundation day

As the Indian National Congress (INC) observes its 136th foundation day on Monday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a dig at former party chief Rahul Gandhi for skipping the program. The Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi left for abroad on Sunday for a short personal visit, the party said. Though the Congress did not disclose Gandhi's destination, the chief spokesperson of the party, Randeep Surjewala, confirmed that he will be away for a few days.

Shivraj takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi

In a tweet in Hindi, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "The Congress is celebrating its 136th Foundation Day here and Rahul has run away." The BJP leader used the popular Hindi idiom 'Nau Do Gyarah (9 2 11)' in his tweet. On his tweet, a user commented that "Rahul Gandhi has nothing to do with the party", to which Shivraj replied, "Why not? He must have gone to celebrate party." 

Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi shared a video and wrote, "Congress has been committed from the beginning to raise the voice of the nation. Today, on the foundation day of the Congress, we reiterate our pledge of truth and equality."

PTI sources said Rahul Gandhi left for Milan in Italy on a Qatar Airways flight on Sunday morning. Rahul Gandhi is travelling amid the ongoing farmers' agitation against agricultural laws. He led a delegation which met President Ram Nath Kovind on December 17 and submitted the memorandum along with a purported 2 crore signatures of the farmers against the recently enacted laws.

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The Congress MP also did not attend the meeting of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) leaders to review the party's performance in the local body elections. The state in-charge Tariq Anwar who is on a tour of Kerala is taking review meeting on the issue.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has asked all its state units to observe the party's foundation day on December 28 through various campaigns including organising 'Tiranga Yatras' and running a social media campaign 'Selfie with Tiranga'.  "December 28 marks the 136th year of the foundation of Indian National Congress (INC). On this day, the PCCs are requested to observe the party foundation day in state and district headquarters and instruct office-bearers, MPs, MLAs/MLCs to participate in the functions," the AICC said in a press release.

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(With agency inputs)