Even as the winter is coming to an end, Rahul Gandhi made sure the netizens furiously looked up for jackets' prices online. Nope, not for purchasing purposes.
It all started when the Congress president Rahul Gandhi sported the "expensive" apparel while attending a concert in Shillong.
Soon, BJP took potshots at Gandhi over his jacket, which they claim cost nearly Rs 70,000.
"So @OfficeOfRG , soot(pun intended!)-boot ki sarkar with 'black' money fleeced from Meghalayan State exchequer by rampant corruption? Instead of singing away our woes, you could have given a report card of your inefficient govt in Meghalaya! Your indifference mocks us! (sic)" wrote the Meghalaya BJP Twitter handle with pictures of the jacket's original price and photo.
So @OfficeOfRG , soot(pun intended!)-boot ki sarkar with ‘black’ money fleeced from Meghalayan State exchequer by rampant corruption? Instead of singing away our woes, you could have given a report card of your inefficient govt in Meghalaya! Your indifference mocks us! pic.twitter.com/sRvj5eoyRb— BJP Meghalaya (@BJP4Meghalaya) January 30, 2018
The national party's tweet was in retaliation to Rahul Gandhi's "suit boot" jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had worn a monogrammed suit during a meeting with then US President Barack Obama in 2015.
The base price of the suit at an auction was Rs 11 lakh, and it was sold for Rs 4.31 crore.
Twitterati was quick to join the party and reminded Gandhi of his apparent hypocrisy.
Rahul Gandhi in a thousand dollar Burberry quilted jacket. Reminds me of Sonia Gandhi's sable coat which was refitted by Fendi. Self-validation by @OfficeOfRG of his cheesy "1% of India's population gets 73% of its wealth" comment. #PakoraTales pic.twitter.com/xJ0eRcjsX5— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) January 31, 2018
Fata Kurta to ₹60,000 worth jacket. Poverty is a state of mind. - Shri Rahul Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/DecY3zzgMi— Maithun (@Being_Humor) January 30, 2018
Pic 1: When Modi wears Burberry scarfPic 2: When Rahul Gandhi wears Burberry jacket pic.twitter.com/YGJk3Vw7WV— PhD in Bakchodi (@Atheist_Krishna) January 31, 2018
Congress who always cry @narendramodi ki sarkar tosuit aur boot ki sarkar but their leader Rahul Gandhi is wearing Burberry's $995 (64000RS approx) jacket. 😰@TajinderBagga @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/5OyM1Mn3UA— Priya Kulkarni (@priyaakulkarni2) January 30, 2018
Pic1: Rahul Gandhi during odd days. Wearing torn kurta to Project himself as “GAREEBON KI SARKAAR” Pic2: Rahul Gandhi during even days. Wearing jacket costing around ₹65000. @Shehzad_Ind pic.twitter.com/eU7l71xlTe— Mitesh Jain (@MK7786) January 31, 2018
Senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury came to Gandhi's defence saying that she could get a similar jacket for Narendra Modi for a mere Rs 700.
Congress' Renuka Chowdhury reacts to BJP's allegation stating that Rahul Gandhi wore a jacket worth Rs.70,000, laughs and says, 'I can show you the same jacket for Rs 700.' pic.twitter.com/1Al6EUG7b7— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 31, 2018
"Did they go to see the bill when Rahul Gandhi was buying the jacket?How do they know? I have never seen a man like Rahul Bhai who lives such a simple life while sitting on such important post," Navjot Singh Siddhu defended his party chief.
Did they went to see the bill when Rahul Gandhi was buying the jacket?How do they know? I have never seen a man like Rahul Bhai who lives such a simple life while sitting on such important post: Navjot Singh Sidhu on Rahul Gandhi allegedly wearing jacket of Rs 70,000 in #Shillong pic.twitter.com/KG06le4KV2— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2018
😂😂 People who defended a monogrammed 10 lakh rupee suit of poor and humble Narendra Modi making drama over 68000 rupee jacket of Rahul Gandhi who has declared assets of 10 crore 😂😂😂— TheComicProject (@thecomicproject) January 31, 2018
After the social media uproar, Rahul Gandhi has now reportedly cleared the air, saying he borrowed the jacket, reported India Today.
Earlier at the concert, while addressing the crowd, Gandhi said, "We are strongest when we stand together in our diversity. India's strength is our diverse culture and different languages, different ways of thinking."
Gandhi urged the youths to love and respect each other to make the country strong. "When we fight each other and spread hatred, we are not strengthening our country but weakening it and disrespecting our people, our past and our future," he said.