Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, said he opted to wear only T-shirts during the march after seeing three impoverished girls "shivering in torn clothes" in Madhya Pradesh, amid controversy surrounding his decision to dress warmly during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
While addressing a street corner meeting in Haryana's Ambala on Monday evening, Rahul Gandhi answered why he wears a white t-shirt amid this cold weather. He explained how when the yatra began it was humid but in Madhya Pradesh, the weather got slightly cold.
"One day three poor girl children in torn clothes came to me...When I held them, they were shivering as they were not wearing proper clothes. On that day, I took a decision that till the time I do not shiver, I will only wear a T-shirt," told the Congress leader.
Rahul Gandhi stated that he wants to send those girls a message.
"When I start shivering, then I will think of wearing a sweater. I want to give a message to those three girls that if you are feeling cold, then Rahul Gandhi will also feel cold," he said.
(Also Read: Delhi weather update: Short relief from cold wave, dense fog in capital; IMD issues orange alert in UP)
The Wayanad MP had last week highlighted that the media is more concerned about Rahul Gandhi’s attire rather than noticing how poor farmers and labourers are walking in Bharat Jodo Yatra in torn clothes.
On Monday, Mr Gandhi also took aim at the PM Fasal Bima Yojana, saying that when impacted beneficiaries go to seek compensation after their crops are destroyed by the whims of nature or for other causes, they discover that the corporation is nowhere to be found.
Touching upon farmers who protested against now repealed central farm laws, Mr Gandhi said the Congress party raised demand in Parliament that "700 farmers had died during stir against farm laws, at least acknowledge their sacrifice and give them martyr status, but the government does not accept they had died,” reported PTI.
The march is currently moving through Haryana.
The yatra, which began on September 7 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, will come to an end on January 30 when Gandhi hoists the national flag in Srinagar.
Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed early morning on Tuesday from Haryana`s Ambala amid dense fog and biting cold. Many people joined the Yatra and were seen today shouting slogans with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, many women Bharat Yatris participated in the Haryana leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
