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.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is inarguably one of the Congress's biggest events in recent history. Images of the Congress leader trudging along the streets of India have wowed social media on a daily basis. The last set of photos, however, have sparked some political controversy and led to many wondering: Does Rahul Gandhi not feel cold in extreme winter?
The photos, of the former Congress chief walking around in a t-shirt in bone-chilling Delhi cold, have rocked the political spectrum, with one side calling it a gimmick, while the other hailing Gandhi as a superhuman.
This piece is not about it. This piece is about the science behind why some of us do not feel cold (or hot for that matter) even during extreme weather. It has got to do with evolution and unique changes within the genomic code that have taken place in a subset of human beings.
The Congress's yatra is being seen as a springboard towards a strong campaign for the 2024 national election, though the party says it is not a "chunao jeeto (win election)" yatra and instead focuses on boosting morale of party workers and connecting with people.
With Mr Gandhi leading the yatra, the opposition leaders in UP, if they attend the yatra, may give an impression that the Congress leader would be the fulcrum for opposition unity in 2024 and they would band around him.
Mr Ramesh denied the party is trying to project Mr Gandhi as the face of opposition unity in 2024. He, however, said opposition unity depends on a strong Congress party. "A weak Congress party can't be the fulcrum of opposition unity," Mr Ramesh said.
"Let's not jump the gun. Nobody is talking about leading in 2024. We're trying to strengthen the Congress party," he said.
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.
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'.
"I wouldn't jump to any conclusion at this juncture. I think we should wait till the yatra starts and let us see who comes and who doesn't," Mr Ramesh told NDTV today.
The opposition leaders in UP have cited prior commitments as the reason for declining the Congress invitation, people familiar with the matter said.
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