‘Thank me later’: Minister’s jibe at Rahul Gandhi; Congress says ‘not rath yatra’

In a stinging attack, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday tweeted a ‘word of advice for Congress’ and asked them to refuel their vehicles in BJP states.

Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Given the massive entourage and convoy of luxury vehicles, their ‘young’ leader usually travels with, they can thank me later for this advice.” Giving a list of how the Congress can save by refuelling in which state instead of which one, the minister said, “For example. there’s a difference of as much as ₹14.5 per litre between Telangana and J&K,” he said.

This comes amid the continuous exchange of barbs between the Congress and the BJP over the Bharat Jodo Yatra that was officially flagged off on September 7.

The Burberry t-shirt of Rahul Gandhi and the ‘5-star’ containers for the night stay of the yatris have been the flashpoints between the BJP and the Congress.

The Congress countered BJP’s 5-star jibe over the containers in which Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders – participants of the Bharat Jodo Yatra — are staying and said the containers are very basic and minimal. “I wish both Amit Shah and Amit Malviya see these containers and then they will know what it is to live in a container.

This is not like the Rath Yatra. It is not a ‘Toyota yatra’ or an ‘Innova yatra’. Ours is a padyatra. The containers are not Made in China,” Jairam Ramesh said. The trucks on which the containers are mounted are from a private company, not undertaken by Adani, Jairam Ramesh said.

After the party released videos of the inside of the containers, they were called luxury containers or 5-star containers.

The containers are for the night stay of the yatris as they will not lodge at any hotel. Around 60 such containers with varying facilities, a 10-seater conference facility, mobile toilets and a dining area are some of the features of the yatra campsite which is moving to a new location daily. For security reasons, Rahul Gandhi is staying in a one-bed container which has a small sofa, an air-conditioner, a small refrigerator and an attached toilet.

Yellow containers are single-bed containers, while the ones marked blue are two-bed containers. Those marled red and orange have bunk beds like train compartments. There is a pink zone for women yatris. The entire campsite needs 2-acre space to park. As of now, they are camping in schools and colleges.