Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tackled the "T-shirt" controversy that appears to have taken the centrestage after he marched into Delhi borders on December 24 leading his Bharat Jodo Yatra with just a white T-shirt and trousers amid severe cold condition.
Speaking to the media, the Congress MP gave an amusing response when quizzed on his winter woolen choices as the national capital saw mercury hover between 7 and 4 degrees Celsius over the past week.
In a light-hearted conversation with reporters, the Wayanad MP said that he is thinking of wearing a sweater once he starts feeling cold.
While addressing the press conference, Rahul Gandhi said, "Why is there so much hullabaloo over a T-shirt? I do not wear a sweater because I am not scared of winter. I am thinking of wearing a sweater once I start feeling cold."
It is not like only social media users and others have raised the T-shirt issue, but several videos doing rounds have purportedly showed his mother and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi questioning him on his winter wardrobe.
Rahul Gandhi also said he considers the Bharatiya Janata Party as his "guru" (teacher) as the BJP shows him a roadmap and teaches him "what should never be done".
Addressing a press conference, the Wayanad MP said, "I want them (BJP) to attack us aggressively, this will help the Congress party understand its ideology. I consider them (BJP) as my Guru, they are showing me the way and training me on what is not to be done."
While talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered New Delhi on December 24 before taking a nine-day break, he said, "When I started this, I just took it as an ordinary yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Slowly we understood that this yatra has a voice & feelings."
"The doors of Bharat Jodo Yatra are open for everyone, we are not going to stop anyone from joining us. Akhilesh ji, Mayawati ji and others want "Mohabbat ka Hindustan"," he said in an open invite to the other parties of the opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Rahul Gandhi's mass contacting campaign, Bharat Jodo Yatra, was issued cautionary notes by the Centre amid a rise in COVID-19 cases across neighbouring countries.
So far, the Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, has covered parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and Haryana.
It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress has claimed.
With this yatra, Rahul Gandhi aims to mobilise the party cadre and unite the general public against the BJP's "divisive politics in the country".
( With inputs from ANI )
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