The most populous nation of the world has also become the most frivolous, finger-pointing one – we care not what our elected representatives do for us but have a sharp eye out for what they are wearing or carrying.Sometimes, this involves in-depth deductions based on meticulous zooming into photographs to point out that the crease beneath a polo could be thermal wear; sometimes, the T-shirt itself is the cause of speculation – was it a Burberryor what?
Such was the case on Wednesday. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who had called himself ‘Bhoomi Putra’ during his speech in the Upper House, was seen sporting a Louis Vuitton scarf in Parliament and most other bhoomi putras seemed to come apart at the seams.
The muted LV accoutrement spoke volumes, it would appear, as opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sleeveless jacket that was made of material from recycled plastic bottles. The jacket had only recently been presented to Modi by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), during the India Energy Week in Bengaluru on Monday. The jacket was part of the IOC’s ‘Unbottled’ initiative.
BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Kharge for wearing a designer scarf to Parliament, tweeting: “Taste apna apna, Sandesh Apna Apna. PM @narendramodi sports a blue jacket made from recycled bottles sending a green message of fighting climate change … Kharge ji wears expensive LV scarf & talks about poverty! Burberry-LV poverty experts!
Since the nation wanted to know, he shared a picture detailing the price of the scarf worn by Kharge. According to the image posted by the BJP leader, the LV scarf was priced at Rs 84,184. Naturally, this merited comparison with the PM’s ‘sustainable’ attire. Any reference to a dear little outfit worn by the epitome of sustainability some years ago would have been unsuitable. Other party members followed suit.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted in praise of PM Modi’s initiative, “My heartfelt gratitude to Modi Ji for wearing the jacket made from fabric using recycled PET bottles! Truly exemplifies his leadership for #LiFE Movement — India led global mass movement to nudge individual & community action to protect & preserve environment.”
Another Twitter user, Akshita Nandagopal solicitedthoughts on Kharge’s scarf: “Congress chief @kharge wearing a very fashionable Louis Vuitton scarf… thoughts? :)”.
One of the responders, @sudhir62 said: “Why not? Look at modiji’s designer ward robe. Makes him look dapper - the shades, shoes, glasses, pashmina shawls and not repeating one attire ever. Awesome! (though you seem to have missed noticing that).”
User @HitaarthMehta42 had this to say:“Louis aur Vuitton ki Sarkarrrrrr…. Loyalist of ITALY !!! @varunuppal said: “Kharge asking questions about Adani’s wealth while wearing a Louis Vuitton scarf. Cute”
Kharge has been trolled on Twitter since his speech in Parliament on Wednesday. He had alleged that the wealth of one of the closest friends of PM Modi had multiplied 13-fold in a few years. “If I speak the truth, is it antinational? I’m not anti-national. I’m more patriotic than anyone here. I’m a ‘bhoomi-putra’…You’re looting the country & telling me that I’m antinational,” said Kharge during the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address.
