BJP coins new ‘gotra’ for Rahul, calls it ‘gotra Itlus’

The BJP on Thursday coined a new ‘gotra’ for Congress president Rahul Gandhi, mocking his Italian lineage through his mother and party leader Sonia Gandhi.

Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey called it “gotra Itlus”. This is the latest remark in the row over Gandhi’s gotra. A priest at Pushkar lake in Rajasthan recently said Gandhi gave out his gotra during a ritual as “Dattatreya”, who are Kashmiri Brahmins.

Some BJP leaders challenged the “claim”, reminding that Gandhi’s paternal grandfather was a Parsi, not a Hindu with a ‘gotra’.