India / Abs of a boxer: Vijender Singh on Rahul Gandhi's pic after swim with fishermen

New Delhi: In the last year, the Covid-19 induced lockdown has made most of our schedules with whatever athleticism turn into a sedentary one. While some people baked banana bread, made Dalgona coffee and learnt new skills in the lockdown, most of us gained the ‘lockdown 15.’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seems to have not skipped out on his gym days. A photo which appeared to have been taken shortly after Gandhi jumped into the ocean for a swim with fishermen in Kerala, has gone viral. In the photo, the outline of abs could be faintly seen through his shirt.

The faint outline was enough for several prominent people to heap praises on Twitter and asking him for fitness tips.

Vijender Singh, who won bronze and silver medals for boxing at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, was among those who shared the image. He tweeted the image of Rahul adding, “Abs of a boxer… Most daring young fit & people’s leader Way to go…”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interacted with the fishermen at Thangassery beach in the district. Gandhi, who had been touring the state for the last two days, also ventured into sea with the fisherfolks in their boat.

Abs of a boxer 👊🏽
Most daring young fit & people’s leader Way to go @RahulGandhi ji pic.twitter.com/E5QVSpTnBZ

— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) February 26, 2021

A video posted on his Instagram on Thursday showed him jumping into the sea with another local fisherman.

“Every morning our nation’s fisherfolk work tirelessly to provide for millions of Indians. The work they do is difficult & painstaking but incredibly rewarding. It was an honour & a privilege to spend time with them & experience just a fragment of the hard work they put in,” he captioned it.

After beginning his journey from Vadi beach by 4.30 am, he spent nearly an hour with them before reaching the venue of interaction. He also cast the net and engaged in fishing along with them. Clad in blue t-shirt and khaki trousers, the Congress leader could be seen waving hands to the onlookers from the boat while reaching back to the shores.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and T N Prathapan M P, also chairman of National Fishermen Congress, also accompanied him during his sea journey.

During the interaction, Gandhi said he always wanted to experience the life of fishermen. “Early this morning, I went to sea with my brothers. From the moment the boat went and came back, they took the entire risk… their entire labour. They sought to the sea, buy the net and somebody else gets the profit,” Gandhi said.

“We tried to fish but got only one. Even with this investment, the net came back empty. This was my experience,” he added. Gandhi further said he would strive to have a separate ministry for fisheries at the Cent“So that the issues of fishing community can be defended and protected,” he said adding that the UDF leaders in the state would soon hold discussions with the fisherfolk to prepare a separate manifesto for them during the impending assembly polls. Taking a dig at the LDF government apparently over the ongoing controversy related to the alleged deep sea fishing contract, the Congress leader said he would like to see what they were going to do with the trawlers.

Gandhi’s interaction with the fishermen assumes significance as the Congress-led UDF has raised allegations against the Left government in the state over an alleged deep sea fishing contract with a US-based company. In the wake of the controversy, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had directed the officials concerned to cancel the MoU between EMCC, the US-based firm and Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), a public sector undertaking and probe the circumstances under which it was signed.