Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Union Minister Mahesh Sharma was speaking in Sikandrabad near Delhi.
Highlights
- "Now Pappu's Pappi has also stepped in," Mahesh Sharma allegedly said
- He earlier said BJP didn't support derogatory remarks against "daughters"
- Several politicans have made offensive remarks about Priyanka Gandhi
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma allegedly made a derogatory remark on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while speaking at an event in Uttar Pradesh over the weekend. The minister had in January declared that neither the BJP nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi support derogatory statements against any "daughter of the country".
Speaking in Sikandrabad near Delhi, Mahesh Sharma called Congress president Rahul Gandhi "Pappu", a term BJP leaders and supporters often use to refer to him. Senior party leaders including its chief Amit Shah have mocked him by using the word.
"Pappu says he wants to become Prime Minister. So there is Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Pappu and now, Pappu's Pappi has also stepped in. That Priyanka, was she not the daughter of our country earlier? Was she not the daughter of the Congress? Was she not the daughter of the Sonia (Gandhi) family earlier. What new has she brought?" Mr Sharma was allegedly seen saying in a video recorded on Saturday and released by news agency ANI.
In January, after a BJP lawmaker compared Priyanka Gandhi to "Surpanakha", the sister of demon king Ravana in Ramyana, Mr Sharma said: "The BJP is a party with discipline. If a person, be it an MLA or anybody else, makes any derogatory statement against any daughter of this nation, we do not support it".
Several politicians have made offensive remarks about Priyanka Gandhi, who entered active politics after years of speculation.
Surendra Singh, a lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh's Ballia targeted Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, after a poster depicting the former as Lord Ram was spotted in Patna. Mr Singh called the Congress president "Raavan" and his sister "Surpanakha".
Last month, a poster in the town of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh depicted her as Mahishasura, the demon king who is killed by goddess Durga.