Where is Rahul Gandhi? Questions grow over absence from CJP protest and Wayanad landslide

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has come under renewed political scrutiny after remaining out of the public eye for several days, with the BJP questioning his absence from both the student-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest over alleged examination irregularities at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and the rain-ravaged district of Wayanad in Kerala.

The issue has gathered momentum as opposition leaders, activists and the BJP have all, for different reasons, raised questions about Rahul Gandhi's whereabouts. While Congress has continued its campaign against alleged paper leaks and NEET-related irregularities, the party has not officially joined the CJP-led agitation, despite both movements demanding accountability from the Centre over examination issues.

The political debate has intensified at a time when Wayanad has been hit by heavy monsoon rains and landslides that have claimed lives and damaged homes, prompting the BJP to accuse Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of remaining absent during a humanitarian crisis.

Why Rahul Gandhi's absence is drawing attention

The immediate trigger has been the ongoing protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, where climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike in support of the CJP movement demanding action over examination irregularities and paper leaks.

Although Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly criticised the Narendra Modi government over the handling of NEET and other examination controversies, visited students in Kota and made education reforms a major political issue, he has not appeared at the protest site.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Wangchuk said opposition parties risk disappointing young protesters if they fail to stand alongside the movement.

"If opposition parties do not participate in this youth movement, people may reject them for such pettiness," Wangchuk said, urging political parties to back the students' campaign.

The Congress, meanwhile, has been running its own nationwide campaign, 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (Voice of the Students), demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged examination paper leaks. Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to interact with students in Dehradun on July 17 as part of that campaign.

BJP targets Rahul Gandhi over Wayanad

The BJP has simultaneously mounted an attack over Rahul Gandhi's absence from Wayanad, a constituency he represented in the previous Lok Sabha before retaining Rae Bareli and vacating the Kerala seat, which is now represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

With rescue and relief operations continuing in the landslide-hit district, BJP leaders questioned why neither Rahul nor Priyanka had visited the affected region.

In a post on X, the BJP mocked Rahul Gandhi's absence, “Since June 20, the country's LOP has been missing...Congress's events are being postponed one after another, and even Congress itself doesn't know where Rahul Gandhi is... and where he's preparing his new toolkit against India...? What do you think? Where is Rahul Gandhi?"

The party also questioned why Congress had not clarified Rahul Gandhi's whereabouts.

"Now even Congress is asking... where on earth is the LOP?" the BJP said.

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also launched a sharp attack, saying the Gandhi siblings were missing while Wayanad faced one of its most difficult periods.

Addressing a press conference, Trivedi asked where Rahul Gandhi had gone when the people of Wayanad needed their elected representatives.

"When he (Rahul Gandhi) left the constituency and passed the baton to his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, he openly said that Wayanad would have two MPs. But unfortunately, both the MPs from the Gandhi family are nowhere to be seen on the ground. This is a betrayal of the people of Wayanad and Kerala," he said.

He further questioned whether Rahul Gandhi was abroad or elsewhere, alleging that the Congress leader had disappeared from public life during a critical period.

Congress yet to formally back CJP movement

Despite campaigning aggressively against alleged examination irregularities, Congress has so far stopped short of officially endorsing the Cockroach Janta Party protest.

The party has instead focused on its own outreach programme centred on students, repeatedly accusing the Union government of failing to prevent paper leaks and demanding political accountability from the Education Ministry.

For now, Rahul Gandhi's absence from both the high-profile student protest in Delhi and the disaster-hit Wayanad has become a political talking point, with the BJP using it to question the Congress leader's public engagement while opposition allies continue urging him to lend visible support to the youth-led movement.