Rahul Gandhi's habits

Mocking queries from the Opposition and the media about Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's conspicuous absence for fully eight days after the floods hit Uttarakhand have so riled the Congress faithful that its spokesmen are on a short fuse. Gandhi was missing around the time of his 43rd birthday and was rumoured to be abroad. On Monday, the issue of the Gandhi scion's initial absence followed uncomfortable queries about the inept response to the disaster by the Congress-run state government. It all became too much for Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury, who shot back at journalists, "You do not know what he [Rahul] is doing. What do you want, that we should be telling you when he has his hair cut, when he spits and when he sneezes?" On his return to the capital, Gandhi made up for lost time and was seen flagging off relief trucks at the Congress headquarters in the morning and flying to Dehradun in the evening. He was even slated to visit Kedarnath, site of the maximum destruction.