"Someone asked me -- does your brother not feel cold?" Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra responded to a bunch of queries about her brother Rahul Gandhi as he started on the next leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Delhi. The Yatra will now go through Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
"Someone asked me -- does your brother not feel cold? He is going around in just a T-shirt in this weather. You should protect him from the cold. At least make him wear a jacket. Then someone else asked me, 'Aren't you concerned about his security? He is going to Kashmir and Punjab'. So my reply is this -- he is armoured in truth. God will keep him safe," Ms Gandhi Vadra said to cheers and applause.
Mr Gandhi's attire had raised questions as north India witnessed a cold wave ahead of Christmas. As he entered Delhi In his trademark white T-shirt and trousers in the biting cold, his lack of winter clothing became a hotly discussed topic on social media.
Mr Gandhi had laughed it off, saying he will use a sweater when he feels cold. "Why is there so much hullabaloo over a T-shirt? I do not wear a sweater because I am not scared of winter. I am thinking of wearing a sweater once I start feeling cold," he told reporters.
Later, he raised the issue during the rally at the Red Fort. Why don't reporters ask such questions to the "farmers, labourers and the poor children of India", he said.
Mr Gandhi was caught in a controversy four years ago when he was seen wearing a full-sleeved black jacket. The BJP claimed it was from Burberry and was priced at around Rs 60,000. During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the BJP focused on his T-shirt, saying it was the same designer brand and cost Rs 41,000. Mr Gandhi then switched to a non-branded white T-shirt.
Mr Gandhi started his yatra this morning after a visit to the Hanuman Mandir in Delhi's Yamuna Bazaar area. The yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh through Loni.
While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has sent a negative RSVP to the Congress invite to join the yatra, it has received the blessings of a priest from Ayodhya's Ram temple.
Chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said he could not join the yatra because of health issues. But he wrote to Mr Gandhi. "You are working for the noble cause that is 'sarvajan hitay sarvjan sukhaay' in the interest of people and for the happiness of the people. I wish the blessings of Lord Rama be upon you always," his letter read.
The yatra will go through Uttar Pradesh for two days and then enter Haryana's Panipat by Thursday evening.