Srinagar
Rahul Gandhi’s Burberry T-shirt and his scraggly beard, V D Savarkar and north India’s chilling winters, the Kathua rape and Covid. As the curtains fall, the Bharat Jodo Yatra replays in a patchwork of issues personal and overtly political with controversies aplenty to ensure the spotlight seldom wavered.
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra started from the southern tip of the country on September 7 and ends on January 30 in Srinagar, some 145 days and 3,500 km later.
The cross-country foot march stayed in the news almost right through, mostly for the barbs between the BJP and the Congress and occasionally for other reasons, including infighting in the opposition party.
It started during the first leg in Tamil Nadu with the BJP attacking Gandhi for wearing a Burberry T-shirt allegedly worth Rs 41,000. The Congress hit back with a Rs 10 lakh suit and Rs 1.5 lakh glasses barb directed at PM Modi.
It was just the beginning.
As the Gandhi-led yatra continued so did the sparring on social media platforms, TV debates and on the streets.
During the early days of the yatra, the grand old party, for instance, tweeted a picture of khaki shorts, often associated with members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on fire. This triggered a backlash from the BJP, which accused the Congress of instigating violence.
And the BJP, in Tamil Nadu, accused the Congress of being anti-Hindu over Gandhi’s meeting with a controversial Christian priest. In Kerala, the Congress was left red-faced when a photo of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar appeared on a campaign poster.
