PM Modi’s recycled jacket vs Kharge’s Louis Vuitton scarf: See what politicians, netizens have to say

Congress president and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who criticised the Centre over the Adani-Hindenburg issue, attracted everyone's attention for donning a Louis Vuitton scarf in Parliament. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a dig at Kharge on Twitter for his “expensive” sense of style and compared it with PM Narendra Modi’s sustainable, ecofriendly jacket made of recycled plastic bottles.   

PM Modi was spotted wearing a half-sleeved light blue bandhgala jacket in the Parliament during his reply to the motion of thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha. The jacket, presented to him by Indian Oil Corporation during India Energy Week in Bengaluru on Monday, is made out of recycled PET bottles. The jacket is part of Indian Oil Corporation's 'Unbottled' initiative. 

Criticising Kharge, who called himself “Bhoomi Putra” during his speech in Rajya Sabha, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla took to Twitter and said, “Taste apna apna , Sandesh Apna Apna. PM @narendramodi sports a blue jacket made from recycled bottles sending a green message of fighting climate change … Kharge ji wears expensive LV scarf & talks about poverty! Burberry-LV poverty experts!” 

Other leaders too lauded PM Modi’s support to green initiatives. Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri took to Twitter to praise PM Modi’s initiative. “My heartfelt gratitude to Modi Ji for wearing the jacket made from fabric using recycled PET bottles! Truly exemplifies his leadership for #LiFE Movement — India led global mass movement to nudge individual & community action to protect & preserve environment," Puri tweeted. 

Netizens too posted their comments on the issue. While a few made fun of the comparsion, some said leaders are being insensitive on wearing such expensive clothes when people are fighting against rising prices and inflation. Kharge's Louis Vuitton scarf is estimated to be worth around Rs 56,332, as per the company’s website. But a few netizens claimed that the scarf is worth Rs 40,000. 

A netizen said: “Yaha garib aadmi ki salary bhi 10-15k hoti hai aur ye log 40000 ka scarf pehan rahe hain, jo mahina 10k kamata hai uski to 4 mahine ke salary ho gai, itna paisa aata kahan se hai.” (People are earning Rs 10,000-15,000 per month while these leaders are spending Rs 40,000 on scarves. Where is this money coming from.” 

Another netizen said: “It’s @kharge’s #LouisVuitton scarf vs  @narendramodi’s ‘green sustainable’ jacket in the #Parliament. What’s happening on the floor of the house? Disgusting and disappointing.”    

This isn't the first time that the BJP has attacked Congress politicians over their choice of clothes. In September 2022, BJP pointed out Rahul Gandhi's Burberry t-shirt, which reportedly cost over Rs 41,000. In return, the Congress retorted that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suit costs Rs 10 lakh.” 

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