Rahul Gandhi has taken a few weeks' leave from the Congress party to "reflect upon recent events and the future course of the party," say leaders.

Sources say Mr Gandhi had some "differences with the old guard" on how tickets are distributed and the empowerment of local leaders in the party. He will be away for three to four weeks but he is "not quitting politics," the sources said.

Mr Gandhi, 44, wants time to think, say Congress leaders. "It is often a good idea to take some time off," Sandeep Dikshit, a former MP, told NDTV.

Mr Gandhi's absence was conspicuous on the first day of Parliament's budget session, which will see the opposition trying to block the government's efforts to ease land acquisition laws, the centre-piece of its economic reforms.

Party president Sonia Gandhi refused to elaborate on her son's plans. "Whatever we wanted to say has been said. I am not going to add anything to this," she told NDTV today.

Rahul Gandhi has led the party to a series of poll defeats since it suffered its worst ever rout in a national election last year. He promised a dramatic revival after that defeat but very little has changed. Earlier this month, the Congress was decimated in Delhi and did not win a single seat in the 70-member assembly.

Some in the party believe that Mr Gandhi should step out of the shadows and formally take charge of the Congress from his mother.

Reports suggest he could be elevated to a bigger role in an upcoming conclave of the All India Congress Committee but Sonia Gandhi said nothing when asked about it.

Mr Gandhi has been blamed by many for the party's downslide and is often seen by his critics as a reluctant and distant leader. Some party supporters believe his sister Priyanka should take a more prominent role in politics.

The BJP mocked the Congress leader's sabbatical. "It is the NDA government's first budget and he wants leave. There will be questions about his interest in politics and the country's affairs," said union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.