Rahul wears Rs 70K jacket in Meghalaya; BJP’s turn for ‘suit-boot’ jibe

Shillong: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who kickstarted the campaign for Meghalaya Assembly elections with a musical extravaganza called ‘celebration of peace’.
The newly appointed Congress national president was spotted wearing an expensive black jacket during the event, costing nearly Rs 70,000.
The BJP was quick to grab the opportunity to attack the young Congress chief, who has been ridiculing the Narendra Modi government over GST, rising unemployment and slow economic growth.
The BJP spent no time and its Meghalaya unit highlighted it on the Twitter with a photo of Rahul Gandhi donning the expensive black jacket at the musical event held in Shillong on Tuesday. The BJP, however, had its own variation of what it meant by ‘soot-boot jibe it took at the Congress chief.
“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!” wrote Meghalaya BJP below the picture which was paired with the jacket’s original photo and price.
The jacket is two-in-one down puffer jacket from Burberry, which is a British luxury fashion brand. On the Bloomingdales website, the cost of the jacket was listed as Rs 68,145.
Evidently, BJP’s tweet was in retaliation to Rahul Gandhi’s “suit boot” jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who worn a monogrammed suit during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in 2015.
The base price of the suit, worn by PM Modi, at an auction was Rs 11 lakh, and it was finally sold for Rs 4.31 crore.
The Congress president was in Shillong to kick off the election campaign of the party in poll-bound Meghalaya.
The ‘celebration of peace’ event, which was held on Tuesday, saw performances by several artists and dance groups, who showcased the cultural diversity of the northeastern state.
Pictures of the Gandhi scion attending the event was also shared on social media by the Congress party on micro-blogging site Twitter.
View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the poll-bound state comes shortly after the resignation of as many as 100 party members over ticket distribution.
Before attending the musical event in Shillong, the Congress president reportedly met members of the party and asked them to ensure victory in the Assembly elections.
According to reports, he assured party members that the Congress party would fight the polls unitedly, adding that the party would also help in preserving the rich cultural and tribal heritage of the state. He further said that no particular ideology would be allowed to get imposed on the people of the state.
The polling for the 60-member state assembly will take place on February 27 along with Nagaland. The results will be declared on March 3.