'My mother has sent sunscreen, not using it:' Rahul Gandhi tells fellow yatris

He has been out walking in the harsh sun over the last 40 days as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, but Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says he does not use any sunscreen.

Gandhi says this in a video, 'What's up, Yatris?', put up on YouTube by the Congress social media team which shows him sharing a banter with fellow yatris at a camp somewhere in Karnataka.

"My mom (Congress president Sonia Gandhi) has sent it, but I have not been using it," Gandhi replies when asked which sunscreen he uses. When the others persisted, he pulled up his his sleeve to show them the contrast in the skin tone.


Gandhi also addresses the other problem which normally afflicts those who take part in foot marches.

"Has everyone got blisters?" he asks.

"I haven't got any," replies on of the yatris.

"Nor have I," Gandhi says.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, launched on September 7, reached a milestone on Saturday covering 1000 kilometres after starting from Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the country.

When one of his fellow marchers suggests that they perhaps walk a bit slower, Gandhi reasons with him that it would expose them to higher noon temperatures.

'Let's say we start at 6.30 am. If we walk slow, and we stop at 11-12 pm, then you will strt to complain, saying you are going too slow, it's becoming too hot," he says.

When asked what he does in the evening after the yatra ends for the day, Gandhi says: "I do a bit of exercise, I read, I call up my mum, see what she's doing, call up my sister, some friends."

Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday as party leader Rahul Gandhi along with others reached Halaharvi village in Kurnool district after a day's break. The 3,500-km yatra from Kanyakumari intends to cover 3,570 kilometres across 12 states before reaching Kashmir.