Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday gave a piece of advice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying that the 48-year-old leader should get married to become "stronger."
Athawale's advice to Gandhi came in response when asked what the Congress chief should do to strengthen the party after facing a poll debacle in recent Lok Sabha elections.
"Rahul Gandhi should get married. After getting married, he will become stronger. Rahul Gandhi is a friend of mine. He worked hard during polls," Athawale said.
However, Gandhi had earlier declared that he was married to the Congress party when asked about his marriage many times.
The Congress had won 52 seats, which is just eight more than 2014 general elections.
After this, Gandhi, who became the party president in 2017, offered to step down from his post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on May 25, taking the moral responsibility for the Congress' abysmal performance in the 17th general elections.
However, his resignation offer was unmously rejected by the CWC.
Athawale is the president of Republican Party of India (RPI) which is a part of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra.
He represents the state of Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament.
( With inputs from ANI )