Hubli/Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Tuesday stoked a controversy by referring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a drug peddler and addict.
"Who is Rahul Gandhi? He is a drug addict and drug peddler. I am not saying it. It had come in media. You can't even run the party," Kateel said at a pre-election meeting in Hubli.
"Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are not able to lead the party. Can a person who cannot lead a political party, lead the nation? They are unable to run a national party and are dreaming of leading the nation. They are talking about our PM Modiji. Siddaramaiah’s conspiracy is behind Ugrappa speaking against D K Shivakumar. Congress will be divided into two before the next elections," he further said.
Furious over the remarks on Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders have demanded an apology from BJP.
Karnataka Congress party chief DK Shivakumar sought an apology from the BJP for the 'abusive and unparliamentary remarks' against Rahul Gandhi. "Yesterday I said I believe we should be civil and respectful in politics, even to our opponents. I hope the BJP agrees with me and will apologise for their state president’s abusive and unparliamentary remarks against Shri Rahul Gandhi," he wrote on Twitter.
Read: Karnataka Congress retracts '#angootachaap Modi' remark after it triggers row
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah said, "Kateel is an immature politician. Never seen an irresponsible politician like him. He has lost his mental balance. It is good if he gets himself treated at NIMHANS Hospital. I condemn the irresponsible statement against Rahul Gandhi."
Former KPCC president Dinesh Gunduradav, while speaking to reporters in Bengaluru said, "Nalin Kumar Kateel is a fool and BJP has made him state president. He didn't even apologize. Kateel should be fired immediately."
The Karnataka wing of both the BJP and the Congress have been engaged in verbal sparring on social media since Monday. It all started after a tweet by the official Twitter handle of Karnataka Congress calling PM Modi an "angoothachaap" (illiterate). The tweet in Kannada said that Modi neither went to schools built by Congress nor learned from the schemes set up by Congress.
A few hours later, Congress said that the post was regretted and has been withdrawn. Shivkumar tweeted, "I have always believed that civil and parliamentary language is a non-negotiable pre-requisite for political discourse. An uncivil tweet made by a novice social media manager through the Karnataka Congress official Twitter handle is regretted and stands withdrawn."
