Salman Khurshid, a Congressman, remarked that Rahul Gandhi is "like a yogi practising his 'tapasya' with attention," adding that the Congress scion modified his plans to include UP, which was not included in the Bharat Jodo Yatra's originally planned path.
Rahul Gandhi is an exceptional human. He is leaving in T-Shirts while we are wearing jackets and shivering in the cold (for his Bharat Jodo yatra). He is focused on his "tapasya" like a yogi, Khurshid remarked.
The seasoned politician continued by equating Rahul Gandhi with Lord Ram. "The 'khadau' of Lord Ram travels extremely far. In some cases, Bharat uses the "khadau" to travel to locations where Ram ji is unable to. We have carried the "khadau" in UP much like Bharat. Ram ji (Rahul Gandhi) will also come now that "khadau" has arrived in UP, he claimed.
Shehzad Poonawalla of the BJP labelled Khurshid's remark a "insult of Hindu Astha" on Twitter.
"Salman Khurshid compares himself to Bharat and Rahul Gandhi to Bhagwan Shri Ram! Shocking! Would he be so bold as to equate someone to another religion's god? Denying the reality of Ram Ji, opposing the Ram Mandir, and now insulting Hindu Astha! Janeudhari Rahul concurs with this, right?" wrote Poonawalla.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, a significant outreach initiative of the Congress, is being led by Rahul Gandhi and travels from Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir.
