Dress quote: Khadi row dogs Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who has got embroiled in a controversy over the use of khadi, tried to wriggle himself out of it on Monday, saying he wore khadi daily and would be the last person to suggest that the use of the cloth should not be mandatory for Congress workers.

The Gandhi scion had triggered a political controversy after he reportedly said that he found khadi to be the most comfortable cloth. Newspaper reports claimed Rahul made the remark at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on November 7, in which he made his debut.

The young Amethi MP, however, now say he didn't refer to khadi in his speech. "I only mentioned land ceiling and not khadi," he clarified on Monday. "I only raised the issue of land ceiling which is already a law.

Otherwise... this is the only issue I raised," he told a press conference in Lucknow on Monday when he was interacting with the media after the first meeting of the UP Congress co-ordination committee.

Rahul reportedly made the remark when he was talking of the necessity to be practical during discussions on changes in the party Constitution when some senior party leaders also spoke on the subject. Rahul had reportedly said the party should not insist on

'non-verifiables' for enrolling as a Congress member.

However, his remarks were interpreted as advocating drastic changes in the party constitution which mandates certain dos and donts to join the organisation. They include being a habitual wearer of khadi and abstaining from alcohol.

His remarks reportedly came after senior leader Karan Singh suggested an amendment in the party constitution calling for wearing of Khadi or 'swadeshi' (made in India), prompting an impromptu and brief debate.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh also claimed that Rahul Gandhi neither raised the issue of khadi nor liquor. "The media had mis-reported his speech and we deny it," Singh said, adding that he was doing it because he was present there.

Gandhi only raised 'practical' issues, he said, adding that khadi is Congress' identity and it will be a permanent identity. "It (khadi) is a symbol against economic exploitation," he added.