Look for Rahul, don't try digging out Govt's faults: Amit Shah slams Cong at BJP national executive

Day 1 of the two-day BJP National Executive in Bengaluru saw party chief Amit Shah taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, asking Congress to go look for its 'missing' leader instead of looking for faults in the government.

Shah slammed the Congress for its opposition to the Centre's land acquisition bill, which it called anti-poor and anti-farmer.

The Congress has been ratcheting up support against the land bill in a series of protests across India. This the second salvo at the Congress leader. On Thursday, the BJP took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi over his likely appearance at a farmers' rally on April 19, saying it is not sure if such news reports are true and his "vacation" is finally over. "Are you serious?" was how BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain responded when reporters sought his response on Gandhi's return to active politics with the rally against the land bill amendments brought by the Modi government.

The land bill is the big agenda at the National Executive, with the BJP planning to drum up support around the legislation. PM Modi has asked his junior ministers to reach out to people, especially those in rural India, and canvass the party's stand on the legislation.

According to Times Now, Nitin Gadkari has been assigned the task to lead the PR team over land bill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and senior leaders LK Advani and MM Joshi are among those expected at the meeting.

The Congress was quick in its response with senior leader Digvijaya Singh saying the BJP shouldn't be bothered about Rahul Gandhi. "They will know when he's back," he told Times Now.

The Congress' recent ante over the legislation has irked the party. "We do not know if reports about the date Rahul Gandhi is coming on are true. No Congress Spokesperson has made any statement to this effect. What plane is he coming on, when will he me(others), if his vacation is finally over... this all will be discussed when he does finally come back," Hussain said.

Gandhi has been missing in action for over a month and Congress has insisted that he has been granted leave of absence to introspect over the party's affairs following a string of electoral reverses starting with its rout in the Lok Sabha elections.

He skipped the first leg of the budget session, inviting criticism from the opposition parties.

Faced with a volley of questions about Rahul's whereabouts and the date of his likely return, AICC spokesman RPN Singh said, "You are asking the same question daily... As already said he has gone for introspection on recent events with an aim to strengthen the organisation. Whenever we will get intimation, you will be informed."

At the same time, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh dismissed questions whether Sonia Gandhi's leadership of recent party protests meant Congress had given up on the young leader. "Everyone in the party including the vice-president are involved," he said.