Ever since Congress legislator Rahul Gandhi launched his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' foot march from India's Tamil Nadu state in September, he has drawn public attention at times with his bizarre or obfuscating statements and gaffes.
From claiming that he himself "killed Rahul Gandhi" and that the person people were looking at "is not Rahul Gandhi" to saying "pigs, dogs and birds joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra," the Gandhi scion has perhaps offered enough room to his opponents to mock him.
Ahead of his India-unifying march's conclusion next week in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Sputnik revisits the pearls of wisdom Rahul Gandhi made during his party's largest mass campaign since independence in 1947.
1. 'People who wear sweaters are scared of cold'
On the eve of the New Year, Rahul Gandhi suggested that people who sport sweaters were scared of the winter chill. His remarks came days after he was seen walking in a T-shirt even as freezing temperatures swept across the northern plains of India.
"Why are you so disturbed by my t-shirt," the 52-year-old quipped to the media about the hullabaloo over his shirt. "I do not wear a sweater because I am not scared of cold. I will wear a sweater once I start feeling cold," he added.
Gandhi's statement continued to hog the limelight for the next couple of days, especially given that Delhi and the National Capital Region were hit by an intense cold wave when he made those remarks.
2. 'I have killed Rahul Gandhi'
Earlier this month, when Congress' Unity March was passing through the BJP-ruled state of Haryana, Gandhi made curious remarks about himself, metaphorically claiming that he had "killed" himself.
"The person you are looking at is not Rahul Gandhi. I have killed him. He is not there. Not in my mind at all. He's gone. Gone," he told reporters.
His remarks drew immediate ridicule from the BJP and even prominent Muslim lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi mocked him for his curious comments. Owaisi, the leader of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (All India Council for the Unity of Muslims) even labeled him a "genie".
3. 'Rahul Gandhi does not exist, he is in your mind'
When queried about the goals and objectives of his march, Gandhi seemed to be deflecting the question before coming up with another strange answer.
"I let go of Rahul Gandhi years ago. Rahul Gandhi is in your mind, not mine. The person you are seeing is not Rahul Gandhi. You are seeing him. You did not understand. Read Hindu Dharma (Scriptures of Hinduism) a little. Read about Shiv Ji (Lord Shiva). You will understand. Do not get confused. Rahul Gandhi is in your head. He does not exist in my head," the ex-Congress chief blabbered, confusing both himself and others with his announcement.
4. 'Did Arjuna reveal his future course of action?'
At the start of this month, the Congress scion drew a bizarre parallel between himself and Arjuna, one of the main heroes of the Hindu epic 'Mahabharata'.
"When Arjuna was focusing on the eye of the fish, did he announce his future course of action to everyone?," Gandhi said in reference to the extremely focused mind of Arjuna as he targeted a fish while looking at its reflection in oil as part of a matrimonial contest.
Gandhi's strange words came after the press asked him about his plans upon the completion of his foot march. He likened himself to Arjuna before claiming that the Mahabharata hero wasn't aware of the result of his actions but still went ahead with the task.
"The story of Arjuna (not announcing his plans in advance) has a profound meaning. It is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita (the Hindu scripture). You focus on the work and do not think about the results. This is the thinking behind the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Gandhi stressed.
5. 'Dogs, pigs, buffaloes, and cows joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra'
Among other gems from Rahul Gandhi's speeches was his claim of animals attending his pilgrimage, sending netizens in splits.
"I don't know if you have noticed it or not, but in this campaign, dogs participated. But no one killed them. Cows, buffaloes, and pigs also joined in, I saw them. All animals came. This Yatra is like our India. There is no hatred or violence here," he said while addressing a gathering of Congress supporters in December.
6. 'Congress a Party of Ascetics and I am an Ascetic'
In his latest gibberish, Rahul Gandhi went on to describe the Congress as a party of ascetics before proclaiming that he is an "ascetic" himself.
In an attempt to promote his recent avatar of an "ascetic" (tapasvi), Gandhi controversially criticized pooja (the Hindu form of worship), noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political party was a party of "pujari" (Hindu priest) while his party focused on "tapasya" (tapasvi).
However, as his contentious claim triggered a massive row, with the BJP terming his comments as "anti-Hindu", Gandhi tried to play down his choice of words.
"There are two types of Pooja – the normal one and the one done by RSS. RSS wants people to forcibly worship them. The response to such a form of worship can only be tapasya," Gandhi rambled on.
RSS is a top Hindu nationalist organization and the ideological parent of the country's federally ruling BJP.