RSS organ Panchjanya on Sunday said the 'young Mr India of the old party' has abandoned the ship leaving the task of steering it to the old guard.

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for embarking on a foreign trip when the process of Bihar polls is underway, RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya on Sunday said the "young Mr India of the old party" has abandoned the ship leaving the task of steering it to the old guard.

"The young 'Mr India' of the old party is as always missing from the scene (Bihar polls) without leaving any clue. The Captain has abandoned the ship and gone missing leaving the burden of steering the party on old shoulders like always," the editorial in RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya said, in an evident jibe at Rahul Gandhi.

"While some say his absence is indicative of his pre-poll fatigue, Congress apologists describe his trip as another occasion for some sort of an unknown global meet.

"Whatever be the reason, the fact is that the country's oldest party, contesting merely 41 seats, and bearing the burden of a historic embarrassment, is not even in the Bihar election race and is only on the fringes," it said.

The editorial also attacked the so-called grand alliance of RJD, JD(U) and Congress, contending the secular and socialist parties in the fray are afraid on account of their internal challenges and the presence of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on the election scene.

"Secular, socialist parties are afraid. Irrespective of who loses Bihar polls, secularism will be ultimately harmed. Communal leader (Owaisi) will cut into not the radical communal votes but the liberal secular vote. These so called secular parties are trying to tell the masses that secular votes will be cut. No wonder they share this common fear in Bihar," the editorial said.

Without naming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, it also took a dig at him, saying he too had abandoned the Bihar election scene to put its own house in order in Delhi and to address the controversy created by a former cabinet colleague.

"At least AAP has a valid reason to be absent from Bihar," it said.

About Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's recent twitter post showing RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Owaisi as two sides of the same face, another article in Panchjanya said, "Digvijay Singh is commenting on a match where he is neither a player nor an umpire. In the game of Bihar elections, the Congress is camped outside the stadium."

PTI