THE WINTER rain in Jammu on Friday forced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to shun his 'white T-shirt look' for some time and wear a black windcheater as he resumed his Bhatat Jodo Yatra in the Union Territory. The Congress leader, who marched into J&K from neighbouring Punjab on Thursday evening, was scheduled to resume his march at 7 am on Friday from Kathua’s Hatli Morh. The march, however, was delayed by 75 minutes due to inclement weather condition. The yatra resumed amid tight security and light rain towards Chadwal, nearly 25 km away, where it it's supposed to halt for the night. Rahul was accompanied by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who said he had joined the yatra on behalf of his party. “The atmosphere in the country is changing fast and I am seeing (Rahul) Gandhi as a leader who is raising his voice on real issues. The way people are connecting with this yatra is heartwarming. He is a leader and that is why he is on the roads,” he said. As photographs of Rahul wearing a windcheater in the rain went viral, a sort of debate started on social media whether the winter chill in Jammu had finally made the Congress leader “shiver and cover himself up”. To set the debate at rest, Indian Youth Congress national president Srinivas B V tweeted that there was a “difference between a raincoat and a jacket”. Rahul, who started the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, mostly sported a white T-shirt along the the route. He did not wear warm clothes even when his foot march passed through Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in extreme cold conditions, leaving many wondering why he does not feel cold. Answering queries regarding it, the Congress MP had said he would wear warm clothes only when he “shivers from cold”. On Friday, he finally wore the protective gear as it was drizzling in several parts of Jammu in the morning. However, after some distance, he was seen removing the windcheater and marching again in his white T-shirt. Giving details of the yatra route, Congress leaders said there will be no march on January 21 on account of the usual break after six days of continued walking. The march will resume next morning from Hiranagar Morh to Duggar Haveli in Samba district where it will halt for the night. On January 23, it will start from Vijaypur in Samba and reach Satwari Chowk in Jammu where Rahul will address a rally, the leaders said, adding that that yatra in Jammu will have a night halt at Sidhra. On January 24, there will be yatra twice during the day, first from Sitli to Old Nagrota and after lunch, from Army Gate to Domail Chowk in Udhampur. From there, the yatra will move in vehicles along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and have a night halt at Ramban. The march will enter Kashmir on January 30 where it will culminate with a grand function at the iconic Kashmir International Conference Centre, Srinagar.
