Rajmani Patel said a real dynasty is when a person devoid of merit is projected as a successor.
Defending Rahul Gandhi after he accused the BJP of dynastic politics, bringing up the sons of Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh to support his claim, Congress leader Rajmani Patel on Wednesday said the Gandhi family made sacrifices for the country over generations and using the dynastic slur at them was "absurd".
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rajmani Patel said, "A son is a natural heir to his father's property. It is assumed that he would take over whatever his father owned. Where is the question of dynasty here? What should a father do, donate his properties to someone else? Is it only then that the son would not be called a dynast."
"A real dynasty is when a person, devoid of merit and eligibility, is projected as a successor in the name of his father," he added.
"If a son has merit, is eligible and dedicated, and is given a position or responsibility, then you can't call him a dynast. When the freedom struggle was on and sacrifices had to be made, it was only the Gandhi family that came forward. They were the only family that made sacrifices over generations," Mr Patel said.
Lashing out at the BJP, he said it has no policy or projects for the people and only misleads them by talking about dynasties and playing the religion card.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo also extended his support to Rahul, saying, "The BJP has nothing else to do. They are not concerned about the country and are only focused on Rahul Gandhi. This is why they keep taking his name all the time."
RJD Leader Shivanand Tiwari also weighed in on the issue, saying, "You'll see that in leading business houses, family members take over when their elders leave office or step down. Even in other professions, family members take over from their elders."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)