On January 11, while the temperature in North India dipped, The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani took it upon herself to warm up the nation to Rahul Gandhi and show how he is living frugally luxurious lifestyle during his Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY). As the container entourage, which has been conveniently hidden from most media videos, reached Punjab, The Wire gave us a sneak peak into how the interiors of the container look like and how absolutely ‘basic’ they are. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and other “Bharat Yatris” gave details of the amenities and facilities available in the 60-container campsite.
In the 12-minute video, Khanum visited Jairam’s container, library and clinic. The conference container, dining hall container, and others were not given a tour of. Notably, the aim was to show Rahul Gandhi was not living a luxurious life during Yatra. However, no photographs or videos of Gandhi’s container were included.
The video started with Khanum walking towards Jairam’s container. For a split second, one can see a heavy-duty diesel generator placed at the site, which most probably has been travelling from Kanyakumari to provide much-needed electricity for the containers. At a time when people across the globe are speaking about climate change and moving towards using more and more renewable sources of energy like solar panel, usage of diesel generators for ‘frugal’ luxury yatra of Rahul Gandhi seems slightly misplaced.
As she entered the container, a heavy-duty heater was visible close to the gate. While speaking to Arfa, Jairam Ramesh mentioned later in the video that the break BJY took from December 24, 2022, to January 3, 2023, was for making changes in the containers so that the ‘Bharat Yatris’ can have the convenience of warm containers. The ACs were reportedly removed, and heaters were installed, keeping the cold in North India in mind.
Arfa said, “Many of you wished to see how Rahul Gandhi lives in the containers. Rahul Gandhi, who was said to have been born with the silver spoon, a prince, someone who does not have an interest in politics, how lives in these containers, has been living a life of a ‘Tapasvi’ for the last 112 days.” However, the container was not of Rahul Gandhi but of Jairam Ramesh. Notably, Jairam lives in a two-bed container. He informed Arfa there are 4-bed and even 12-bed containers at the campsite, but Gandhi lives in a one-bed container. It is his personal container.
The ‘basic’ bathroom in frugal luxury container
Arfa showed the bathroom in the video and called it a ‘simple’ bathroom with ‘basic’ amenities. A well-lit modern bathroom with shower, geyser, English toilet with two jet options, mirror, hand wash dispenser, and a nice-looking wash basin was anything but basic. Arfa rightly said, “It is a basic bathroom for those who are habitual of living a comfortable life”. Interestingly, Jairam claimed to have realised that he can manage in one bucket of water and does not have to “waste” more water for shaving, bathing etc. He was not happy with the geyser, though. He said it takes a lot of time to heat the water. The electric heater, too, would be running on the diesel generator that is heating and lighting up the containers.
Laundry service at Yatra
Furthermore, Jairam said there is a laundry service at Yatra as well. That means the ‘Bharat Yatris’ do not have to wash their clothes themselves in this bone-chilling cold. Someone else or a washing machine that also likely runs on diesel generator will do it for them. However, Jairam added that he gets a day off every 7-8 days and that he goes back home, gets his clothes washed and brings back a new lot. It is unclear why he avoids getting them cleaned at the laundry service for yatris.
Workplace in Rahul Gandhi’s container
Though they did not show Gandhi’s container, Jairam claimed it had only one bed and a workplace. While talking about a separate workplace in the container, Jairam, while being visibly sad, said he could not get a personal workspace of his own like Gandhi. However, he was happy with the facilities. He said, “Initially when I saw the container for the first time, I could not see myself living in this for over three months. But now, when I go back to my home and see my bedroom, I see it with amazement.”
Other facilities in the containers and campsite
Jairam showed how containers also have ample storage space. While showing the wardrobes, they talked about the white t-shirts Rahul Gandhi wears every day. Arfa joked, “So they can hang clothes here. Rahul Gandhi’s 30-40 t-shirts will easily fit here!” Jairam said, “It has become a national issue!” Arfa jokingly said she wanted to check if there were hidden jackets in Gandhi’s container, but unfortunately, she could not see his personal container.
There is a clinic container, library container, conference hall container and other facilities at the campsite. People across the country donate books to the library. The doctors at the clinic claimed they see around 100 people every day. Interestingly, when Arfa asked who among them takes care of Rahul Gandhi’s health, it was revealed that there was a personal team of doctors for Gandhi.
In the video, they showed a single-bedroom container, but it is unclear if it was part of a larger container or if it was of Rahul Gandhi’s. In that container, there was a mini fridge as well.
Jairam noted in the video that two people lost their lives during Yatra but it is not yet clear who and where.
