In an interaction with reporters on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi addressed the 'T-shirt row' and gave an amusing response, stating that he will make a special video after the yatra on 'how to confront the winters in a T-shirt.'
How cold is it in Delhi? Ask Rahul Gandhi's 'T-shirt.' The Congress leader has appeared to taken centrestage in winter chills as he led the Bharat Jodo yatra in the national capital on December 24 wearing just a white T-shirt and trousers amid severe cold conditions.
In an interaction with reporters on Saturday, the Wayanad MP addressed the "T-shirt row" and gave an amusing response, stating that he will make a special video after the yatra on "how to confront the winters in a T-shirt." He added that he is not scared of the winters and that is why he doesn't wear a sweater.
"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," ANI quoted Gandhi as saying.
The Bharat Jodo yatra kingpin has gained the spotlight for his winter wardrobe choices as he walked in Delhi last week wearing his signature white polo t-shirt, at a time when cold wave warnings were issued and the city saw mercury hover between 7 and 4 degrees celsius.
Ever since, social media has been abuzz with questions on why Gandhi has ditched the sweater and jacket this winter. Several videos of his mother and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi questioning his winter choices have also been doing the rounds.
As per reports, Gandhi also spoke of how the yatra has acquired "voice and feelings" and has brought together the people of the country against divisive politics.
"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," he said.
"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 added as he called on other opposition parties to present a united front against the ruling BJP in the 2024 general elections.
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 entered the national capital on December 24 and is currently on a nine-day break. It will resume from January 3.
The Congress has claimed that the Bharat Jodo yatra is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, that aims to mobilise the party cadre and unite the people against "divisive politics in the country."
Last week, as the yatra was about to enter Delhi, a row erupted among Congress leaders and the central government after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote a letter to Gandhi, asking him to consider suspending the yatra amid COVID scare. The letter came at a time when neighbouring countries were registering a surge in infections and deaths linked to the virus.
Gandhi and other party leaders had, however, dismissed these scares and said that the BJP was finding COVID wherever the Bharat Jodo yatra was moving.