In January, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Bisaw Sarma alleged that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi used a body double on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam. At a press conference, Sarma cited an India Today NE report claiming that the Congress leader used a body double for public appearances.
Sarma's claims were further amplified by BJP IT Cell's national convenor Amit Malviya. "This report has raised a big question in Assam. Rahul Gandhi has used a body double during his yatra in ṭhe state. This means that the person who you saw sitting at the front seat of the bus, is not him. Rahul sits inside a room where there is a place created to host eight people. Though I have not seen him, you can look at this news posted on Twitter. Who is this person who sits in front of the bus and gets himself clicked by many thinking that is the real Rahul Gandhi?" Sarma alleged.
However, the person seen in the viral photo was not Rahul Gandhi's body double but identified as Rakesh Kushwaha, a Madhya Pradesh Congress worker. Kushwaha himself confirmed this information to Quint Hindi during an interview.
According to Kushwaha, the viral photo in question was taken on January 22, and he deliberately chose to participate in the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra aping Rahul Gandhi's striking salt and pepper beard with white t-shirt. Kushwaha explained that the bus in the photo that Sarma showed to reporter was provided to some workers by the Youth Congress, and Kushwaha never boarded the bus in which Rahul Gandhi was traveling.
"I am the one in the viral photo. I had decided that I would participate in the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra in the same look as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra," Kushwaha stated.
He underscored that the visuals on Congress's YouTube channel from the Assam visit clearly differentiate between the two instances, confirming that the buses were indeed different.
