A priest at the Pushkar lake in Rajasthan, who presided over the puja offered by Rahul Gandhi on Monday, claimed that the Congress president’s gotra was ‘Duttatreya’ and he is a Kashmiri Brahmin.

“His gotra is ‘Dattatreya’ and he is a Kashmiri Brahmin. Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have come and offered prayers at the ghat and it is recorded with us,” Dinanath Kaul, the priest, told reporters.

Kaul claimed that he possessed old records, or ‘pothi’, in which the record of his family tree is registered and the priest’s ancestors had made Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the family do puja at the Pushkar Sarovar.

“(Rahul) Gandhi came and offered prayers at the ghat. He also said his gotra is Dattatreya. Dattatreya are Kauls and Kauls are Kashmiri Brahmin,” he said.

The priest also presented documents showing the names of Rahul Gandhi’s ancestors who have worshipped at the Pushkar lake.

On Monday, the Congress chief had visited the Ajmer dargah and Pushkar and offered prayers before addressing election rallies.

While offering a puja at the Brahma temple in Rajasthan’s Pushkar, the 48-year-old told priests that he was a “Kaul Brahmin” and belonged to the “Dattatreya gotra”.

Gandhi is touring Rajasthan to campaign for the Congress in the Rajasthan Assembly Election 2018.

Gandhi’s gotra has been a political point which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been raising ever since the Congress chief embarked on a temple spree ahead of elections in key states. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had questioned Gandhi over his claim of wearing a ‘janeu’ (sacred thread worn by Brahmins) and his gotra.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi took a dig at Patra on Monday after the revelation of Gandhi’s gotra.

“Sambit, the issue has now become weak. What will you hold press conferences for till 2019? Now applause, bhakts!” she tweeted in Hindi.

The Congress chief calls himself a “Shiv bhakt” and has also made a high-profile trip to Kailash Mansarovar a couple of months ago.

At the Brahma temple, the Congress chief prayed for “peace for the world”. His great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, grandmother Indira Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi had visited the temple in the past.

Gandhi had also visited Ajmer Sharif dargah on Monday. Accompanied by former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state unit chief Sachin Pilot, Gandhi offered prayers at the 13th century Sufi shrine.

Rajasthan goes to elections on 7 December in a single-phase polling for the 200-member Assembly. Counting of votes will take place on 11 December.

(With agency inputs)