Rahul Gandhi skips Manmohan Singh’s farewell party

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi sparked yet another controversy by skipping Prime Minister Dr.  Manmohan Singh’s farewell party, thrown by Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday evening in New Delhi.

The party tried to downplay Rahul’s absence in the dinner where the party officially thanked him for his contribution for the last ten years.  

RPN Singh, Minister of State for Home Affairs, said, “This issue should not be politicised. We should talk about great work done by the prime minister.”

The party said that Rahul met Prime Minister on Saturday to thank him and he was not present as he was out of town.

Defending Rahul’s decision to stay away from the dinner, Congress leader Ajay Maken said, “After three months of gruelling campaigning, Rahul ji is out of town for two days. (He) will be back tomorrow. Rahul ji had already met the honourable prime minister on May 10 to personally thank him for his services and contribution rendered to the nation.”

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised Congress for mishandling the situation.

“If you knew he was not attending the dinner AND he’d explained his absence to the PM earlier put out the statement BEFORE the news breaks (sic),” Omar tweeted.

Sonia Gandhi presented a memento – signed by top Congress leaders and ministers – to Prime Minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur to show party’s gratitude towards the leadership of Manmohan Singh.  She also gifted a shawl to PM.

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