Congress V-P to celebrate New Year abroad

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has left for London on a private visit.

Rahul took to Twitter to declare his travel plans. “I will be traveling for the next few days. Happy New Year to everyone, wishing you and your loved ones success & happiness in this coming year,” says the tweet. According to sources, Rahul left for London on Wednesday and will ring in the New Year there. His trip, a source indicated on Friday, may last a week at least.

Rahul’s latest trip comes after an intense period which saw him accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of personal corruption, and happens to coincide with political turmoil in UP due to infighting within the ruling Samajwadi Party and the Modi government’s demonetisation.

On December 28 last year, before travelling abroad for New Year celebrations, the Gandhi scion had tweeted via his official handle @OfficeofRG: “I will be travelling to Europe for a few days. A very Happy New Year to everyone.”

Thereafter, he tweeted again on June 20, 2016 before leaving Indian shores, saying: “Travelling out of the country for a few days on a short visit...”.

The prior intimation of his foreign trips on social media followed the controversy that broke out after his two visits abroad last year.