E-Paper
'Should roam naked...': BJP leader on Congress' Rahul Gandhi-Lord Ram comparison
Bharat Jodo Yatra news: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will lead the yatra into BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh next, en route to Srinagar - the rally's conclusion - next month.
BJP leader Dushyant Gautam hit out at Congress leader Salman Khurshid Tuesday after the ex union minister - while speaking about his party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' - compared Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the yatra, to Lord Ram and the opposition outfit to 'Bharat'. "If he is Ram's avatar, then Rahul Gandhi should tell his 'sena' what he eats so he doesn't feel cold... why doesn't his 'sena' roam without clothes... Congress men should roam naked as Lord Ram's 'sena'..." Gautam declared to news agency ANI.
Full Coverage | Rahul Gandhi leads Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra
On Monday Khurshid called Rahul Gandhi 'superhuman' and told reporters, "While we are freezing in the cold and wearing jackets, he is going out in t-shirts... he is like a yogi doing 'tapasya' with focus."
Rahul Gandhi and the yatra reached Delhi Saturday morning, just as the season's first cold wave dropped minimum temps to below five degrees Celsius.
"Lord Ram's 'khadau' goes very far. When Ramji is not able to reach... Bharat takes the 'khadau' and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the 'khadau' in UP. Now 'khadau' has reached… Ramji (Rahul Gandhi) will also come," he added.
READ | 'While we freeze… Rahul Gandhi a superhuman…': Salman Khurshid
Hours earlier Rahul Gandhi visited the shrines of Mahatma Gandhi and several former prime ministers and paid his respects.
Dressed in a simple white t-shirt and slacks, the Congress leader appeared oblivious to (nearly) freezing winter temperatures.
The party's social media chief, Supriya Shrinate, told reporters images of Gandhi at the shrines were a rebuttal to protests by 'BJP leaders covered in blankets... (who are) plotting to divide the nation'.
READ | Cong's 'blanket' jibe at BJP after Rahul Gandhi visits 'samadhis' in t-shirt
The Congress' yatra has been under a cloud of controversy since it began in September; most recently after union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote to Rahul Gandhi about 'concerns' over Covid protocols not being followed.
READ | Smriti Irani asks Rahul to follow Covid protocols during yatra
The letter was dismissed by the Congress as attempt to derail its show of strength. Reference was made to rallies for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections - held by prime minister Narendra Modi and senior leaders from the opposition - that were allowed just days earlier.
"If any scientific protocol is applicable for this country, it will also be applicable to us. But it cannot be Covid-19 said 'it will come for the Congress and not come for the BJP'. If someone follows the protocol, we will also follow it. But today, there is no protocol," Khurshid said.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, speaking outside Delhi's iconic Red Fort, addressed a 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' rally on Saturday and accused the BJP of practicing 'Hindu-Muslim propaganda... to divert attention from the real issues'.
With input from ANI
