Kharge: No question of Rahul attending Sangh event

NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to embark on his much-awaited Mansarovar yatra on September 1. Rahul is expected to leave on August 31 and start his pilgrimage the next day which may keep him away from politics for around a fortnight.The Congress leader had announced his wish to go to the Shiva shrine at a rally in the national capital on April 29.The journey will come at a time when his temple runs, which started with the Gujarat election campaign and continued into the Karnataka polls, have become a discussion point. While Rahul said he was always a believing Hindu, political circles were rife with the commentary that it was an attempt to dilute the “pro-minority” tag of Congress. Sources said the Congress ‘core group’, a committee of senior leaders formed recently, will meet on Thursday. It may put in place an arrangement to run the party during Rahul’s absence.Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said “there is no question” of Rahul Gandhi or anybody from the party attending an RSS event. “Let the letter (of invitation) come first. This (invitation) is all in view of elections,” Kharge said, when asked about RSS’ reported plan to invite Rahul to a lecture series next month.