Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said that the people of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the real "bhakts" and followers of Mahatma Gandhi, whereas the people of Congress are the followers of "nakli (fake)" Gandhi like Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
Joshi's remarks came after Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attacked the BJP over Anantkumar Hegde's controversial remark on Mahatma Gandhi and called them as "Ravana ke aulad" (children of Ravana).
"We, people of Bharatiya Janata Party, are the real bhakts. We are the real followers of Mahatma Gandhi. These people are the followers of 'nakli' Gandhi like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," said Joshi in the Lok Sabha.
"Aaj ye Mahatma Gandhi ko gaali dete hain. Ye Ravana ke aulad hain. Ram ke pujari ka ye apmaan kar rahe hain (Today, they abuse Mahatma Gandhi. They are children of Ravana. They are insulting Lord Ram's devotees)," Chowdhury had said in the Lok Sabha.
Later, BJP MPs object to Chowdhury's statement.
Hegde, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada, had on Saturday said that the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi was a "drama".
"None of these so-called leaders were beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was one big drama. It was staged by these leaders with the approval of the British. It was not a genuine fight. It was an adjustment freedom struggle," Hegde had said while addressing a public event in Bengaluru.
While several Congress leaders, including Karti Chidambaram and BK Hariprasad, have condemned Hegde's remark, BJP leaders too have distanced themselves from the same.
( With inputs from ANI )