Rahul Gandhi who is on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to redeem his image as a Janeudhari Hindu has landed himself into another controversy by eating non-veg food in a restaurant en route to Kailash. His trip to Kailash Mansarovar started with a flight to Nepal on August 30th where he visited hotel Vootoo and had the traditional Newari food which is quite popular in Nepal. The hotel Vootoo later came up with a statement citing that Rahul Gandhi had not taken any non-vegetarian food in the hotel after the news of Rahul Gandhi having consumed non-veg was displayed prominently on local and national newspapers in Nepal. The issue had raised angst in Nepal too as the country has a high number of followers of the Hindu religion who would consider it a sacrilege to consume non-vegetarian food while on the route to a holy place. Nobody should have any problems with what Rahul Gandhi consumes especially when he is on a foreign trip, but it is the Congress which has chosen to highlight this event as redemption of Rahul’s Hindu origins to get political mileage.
Newari cuisine is a highly celebrated cuisine in the world which is known for its meat dishes, while the hotel has tried to clarify that the food served to Rahul Gandhi was vegetarian the waiter has gone on record to contest this claim. The waiter who served Rahul Gandhi has gone on live television and has attested that not only did Rahul Gandhi had non-vegetarian food at the restaurant but that he liked it so much that he reordered a few dishes. The waiter has gone on record to say that ‘special meat platter’ and ‘chicken’ were served to Rahul Gandhi while the hotel administration has denied this claim. The waiter is reportedly being pressurised to change his statement from some ‘sources’, the same which had forced the hotel to issue clarifications about Rahul being served plain vegetarian food.
The Congress President had spoken about his desire to undertake Kailash Mansarovar Yatra during the Karnataka assembly elections and on 29th April, he had announced it at Ramleela Maidan in the national capital at party’s ‘Jan Aakrosh’ rally. At the rally he had said, “A few days ago, we were on our way to Karnataka in an aircraft. And the aircraft suddenly came down by 8,000 ft. I thought ‘gaadi gayi’ (it was all over).” He further added, “The moment I thought that it was all over, it struck my mind that I have to go to Kailash Mansarovar. So, I would require your leave of 10-15 days after the Karnataka Assembly polls.”
While Congress leaders claimed Rahul Gandhi is a devoted Shiv Bhakt and a Janeu-dhaari Hindu, political circles maintained that it’s all just a political stunt in order to dilute the tag of Congress being “pro-Muslim” party. Rahul Gandhi proved the opposition right when a statement surfaced on social media claiming the Gandhi scion said that the Congress is a Muslim party. This statement of Rahul Gandhi disappointed his cheerleaders a lot as their attempts to portray Rahul Gandhi as pro-Hindu leader went in vain. The disappointed cheerleaders were ready to endorse his so-called ‘soft-Hindutva’ as a ‘necessary evil’ for a bigger cause, that is to defeat PM Modi in the 2019 general elections.
It remains to be seen what other antics Rahul Gandhi will do in the coming days. Some irrational comments, some anti-BJP rants and a few more photos in which Rahul Gandhi will perhaps appear more confused than ever upon visiting the Kailash Mansarovar are sure to follow. A travelogue of his pilgrimage if maintained will prove to be a cure for all the minor problems which BJP might face in the upcoming state and Lok Sabha 2019 elections.