Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), attacked and criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when a child was seen strolling with the Wayanad MP during the Bharat Jodo Yatra while wearing only a dhoti in freezing temperatures.

Bagga tweeted a photo of the Gandhi scion holding the toddler’s hand and strolling alongside the child, who was only wearing a dhoti and a janeu. “Only a shameless person can make a child roam around nude for politics in 4 degrees,” Bagga captioned a photo of Rahul Gandhi with a toddler wearing only a dhoti during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

4 डिग्री तापमान में राजनीति के लिए एक बच्चे को कपड़े उतार के घुमाना एक बेशर्म ही कर सकता हैं pic.twitter.com/9ZSzitf3EQ

— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 6, 2023

Meanwhile, lawyer Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah expressed strong opposition to Rahul Gandhi walking with the child in the cold without a shirt or a T-shirt and claimed to have written a letter to NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo to take cognizance of the “unconstitutional conduct by INC for violating the rights and welfare of a child for political gains and notify the parents for publicity stunts.”

Before you stoop low for another photo op, keep in mind @INCIndia:

1. Janeu is worn from R to L only when performing last rites.

2. It is despicable not just as a politician, but also as a human to have a minor child walk w/o clothes in such frigid temperatures.

This is ABUSE! pic.twitter.com/0tGDOa1KqW

— Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah (@adv_chandnishah) January 6, 2023

She accused the Congress of exploiting children for political advantage and educated the grand old party about janeu, the sacred thread that holds great religious significance in Hinduism. The child was also seen wearing a janeu while walking alongside Rahul Gandhi.

So @INCIndia deleted their Tweet.But does it whitewash the act of CHILD ABUSE for a mere Photo Op?

Plz take this into serious consideration & appropriate action must be taken by @NCPCR_ against INC. Also notify the parents of the kid for giving approval.https://t.co/Kw9RF6DXml pic.twitter.com/Vu5k9qcDbs

— Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah (@adv_chandnishah) January 6, 2023

Puneet Sharma, the BJP’s Himachal social media head, also criticised Gandhi and the Congress party, stating that the election commission does not allow political parties to use children in their campaigns, so why was Rahul Gandhi strolling with a child in freezing conditions? He also requested the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to take action.

Even the election commission doesn’t allow political parties to involve children in their campaigns, then why Rahul Gandhi was walking with a child in freezing conditions?

We request the @MinistryWCD to take strict note of and an appropriate action against Rahul Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/Awl4fjhOyL

— Puneet Sharma (@iPuneetSharma) January 7, 2023

Netizens React To Rahul’s Photo With The Child Wearing Only Dhoti During Bharat Jodo Yatra: 

I don’t understand the reason for @RahulGandhi making a child walk bare chested while he is wearing a T-shirt. If he is so unafraid of the cold, he should have been walking without a T-shirt. And the sycophants around accept this cruelty on the child while they are covered.

— Savio Rodrigues 🇮🇳 (@PrinceArihan) January 7, 2023

Adults are dressed in full winter proof attire but the kid is being walked naked. What kinda insensitive politics is this in the name of #BharatJodo ? pic.twitter.com/PAmz0WcVqB

— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) January 6, 2023

Dear @RahulGandhi ,
Janeu is worn
over the left shoulder (Upaviti) for auspicious occasions, & it is worn on the right shoulder (Prachnaviti) for inauspicious occasions.
So maybe the kid is trying to tell you he doesn’t find ur Yatra auspicious, & u just didn’t realise it pic.twitter.com/IpuuOSAiSi

— Rupa Murthy (@rupamurthy1) January 6, 2023

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s decision to walk the Bharat Jodo Yatra in northern India in a white t-shirt in the bitter cold has sparked discussion in political circles.

Reacting to the issue over him being in a T-shirt at the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Gandhi scion claimed everyone is spotlighting his dress, while taking “no notice of the poor farmers and labourers walking along with him in torn clothes”.