As the Congress announced nationwide protests from November 1 to 15, the absence of former party president Rahul Gandhi raised a number of questions. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Wednesday clarified that Rahul is on a “meditational visit” and that the 35 press conferences to be held from November 1-8 had been planned in consultation with him.

“Rahul Gandhi has gone in the past from time to time on a meditational visit, on which he is currently there, this entire programme (35 PCs from 1-8 Nov against Central govt over economic situation) was drafted as per his direction and in consultation with him,” Surjewala was quoted as saying at a press conference in New Delhi by news agency ANI on Wednesday.

The Congress will hold 35 press conferences across India from November 1 and 8 to highlight the Modi government’s alleged ‘anti-people’ economic policies. The party has also announced nationwide protests from November 5 to 15 against the ongoing economic slowdown.

The announcement about Rahul Gandhi’s meditational visit drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Rahul Gandhi routinely flew to odd destinations despite India being the leading center for meditation. “India is a leading center for meditation with a rich heritage. But Rahul Gandhi routinely flies out to odd destinations for ‘meditation’. Why doesn’t Congress simply make his itinerary public, after all he is a highly protected leader!” Malviya tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi had also travelled out of the country in October when the campaigning for the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls was in full steam. He came back in the second week and held a few public rallies in both states. This stood in sharp contrast to the BJP top brass, including PM Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, who went on a campaign blitz addressing rallies on a daily basis.