Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday was attacked by his own famous jibe – “Soot Boot ki Sarkaar”. Gandhi, who is in Meghalaya to see his party’s preparations for upcoming elections in the state, had on Tuesday donned a jacket which attracted the attention of his opponent BJP . The Congress chief was attending a rock concert in the state and his jacket was quite an ideal dress for the occasion. Some people also saw it as a bid to reach out to the youth of the state. However, BJP attacked Gandhi, saying his jacket was worth around Rs 70,000.

The Meghalaya unit of saffron party tweeted a picture of Rahul Gandhi, saying it comes at a cost of around $995. “So @OfficeOfRG, soot (pun intended!) – boot ki sarkar with ‘black’ money fleeced from Meghalayan State exchequer by rampant corruption? Instead of singing away our woes, you could have given a report card of your inefficient govt in Meghalaya! Your indifference mocks us!(sic),” BJP Meghalaya tweeted.

The concert was significant, as it was organised by the Congress itself, which has been in power for nearly 15 years in the state. A number of noted bands including ‘Soulmate’ and ‘Emperical Tribe’, besides cultural troupes of the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos performed at the festival. Gandhi, who listened to the musical bands performing in front of 4,000-plus crowd, barely spoke for five minutes at the event named as ‘Festival of Peace’.

“We are strongest when we stand together in our diversity. India’s strength is our diverse culture and different languages, different ways of thinking,” he said as the crowd, including a large number of women, cheered him.

The Congress boss urged the youths to love and respect each other to make the country strong. “When we fight each other and spread hatred, we are not strengthening our country but weakening it and disrespecting our people, our past and our future,” he was quoted as saying. Asking the people to be proud of their heritage, language and religion, the Congress president said, “We are all proud of you and we will defend your way of thinking”.

Reacting on the issue, Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury took a dig at BJP. Laughing out at the controversy, she said, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the desperation of the BJP. They (BJP) have actually got people to search for rates online, is it? I can actually show you the same jacket for Rs 700.” Laughing out the claims of BJP, she also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “If Prime Minister Modi wants one (the jacket), I will send it for him. Other than 56-inch chest, I don’t have his measurements.”