MGNREGA Bill in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi Travels to Germany

New Delhi: At a time when Parliament is considering a bill that will dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), regarded as the lifeline of rural India, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is on a leisure trip to Germany. His absence comes at a crucial moment when, as the opposition leader, he is expected to strongly oppose what is being described as an anti-worker bill.

When the bill was taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi was visiting the factory of luxury automobile manufacturer BMW in Germany. His foreign travel violates the Congress whip mandating compulsory attendance in Parliament for three days, given the discussion of key legislative proposals. Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to remain in Germany until Saturday.

Rahul Gandhi’s decision to travel abroad during a decisive parliamentary session has triggered discontent within the Congress party. After launching the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar ahead of the election announcement, Rahul Gandhi did not actively pursue sustained campaigning and instead embarked on a series of foreign trips. He has travelled abroad five times in the last six months.

A Pattern of Absence at Crucial Moments

Rahul Gandhi has often been criticised for leaving the country during critical national debates. Over the past six months, he has undertaken five foreign visits. From June 25 to July 6, he was in London. Between September 4 and 8, he travelled to Malaysia, and later that same month visited Brazil and Colombia. Following the announcement of elections, he spent only a few days in Bihar.

Critics within and outside the party argue that Rahul Gandhi frequently chooses foreign travel over serious political engagement. In 2015, he spent nearly two months across Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, reportedly for meditation. He was abroad during the 2018 Budget Session of Parliament as well.

In May 2019, soon after the Lok Sabha election results, he travelled to the United Kingdom. In October 2019, ahead of the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections, he visited Bangkok. In December 2019, during the Jharkhand Assembly elections, he was on a leisure trip to South Korea and did not participate in the nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In December 2020, he skipped the Congress Foundation Day celebrations and travelled to Italy.

At the beginning of 2022, when Assembly elections were underway in Punjab, Goa, and other states, Rahul Gandhi was again abroad celebrating the New Year. During the March 2023 Budget Session, he remained overseas for two weeks. Most recently, in September last year, when heavy rains caused widespread devastation across several northern states including Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi was on a leisure trip to Malaysia instead of visiting the affected regions.