Nagpur: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a leave of absence from Parliament to focus on party work following its wipeout in the Delhi polls, will be back in action early next week, said former Union Minister Kamal Nath.

"Rahul Gandhi will be back to business in next about five days," the senior Congress leader said speaking on the sidelines of an annual Convocation of Institute of Management Technology (IMT) at Kalmeshwar about 40 km last evening.

Rahul's absence during the ongoing Budget session of Parliament evoked sharp criticism in the political circles.

The Gandhi scion went on a sudden sabbatical just before the commencement of the Parliament session and also at a time when the AICC meet is around the corner. The Congress said he has taken a "break" but there are speculations that he was disappointed about not getting a free hand in managing the party's affairs. Nath said Rahul should be given the leadership of the party so that things start moving.

"He (Rahul) has the potential to take the reins," he said.

Nath's views come after he told a private news channel that the Congress was falling between two stools.

"If a matter is referred to Sonia (Gandhi), the buck was passed to Rahul who sent it back to his mother, leaving the party members confused," Nath had said last fortnight.