"Unfortunately, I Am Member Of Parliament": Row Over Rahul Gandhi's Video

The BJP on Thursday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, with various union ministers tweeting a video from the Congress leader's press conference in which senior party leader Jairam Ramesh is seen correcting him.

The 25-second-long video, shows Mr Gandhi telling reporters, "Unfortunately, I am a Member of Parliament", after which Mr Ramesh leans over and advises the Congress leader that his remarks can be turned into a "joke".

"Unfortunately, I am a Member of Parliament – they can make a joke," Mr Ramesh tells Mr Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi then proceeds to corrects himself: "See, I want to make it clear, unfortunately for you, I am a Member of Parliament."

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted the video, throwing shade at Mr Gandhi. "Unfortunately, we are at a loss for words…" he wrote.

Another union minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, too tweeted the video, calling it "Truly unfortunate".

The BJP's Amit Malviya asked if Jairam Ramesh is the "official nanny of Rahul Gandhi."

Mr Ramesh was quick to hit back with a jab of his own. "We speak freely to the media without teleprompters," he tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi finds himself under immense fire from the BJP over his comments in London, with at least four Union Ministers demanding his apology in and outside parliament. At a lecture at Cambridge University, the Congress MP said the Indian democracy is under pressure and opposition voices are being stifled.

The Congress leader said the row over his London remarks was "just a distraction" from the questions he had raised in his speech in parliament last month. "I have a fundamental question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relationship with Gautam Adani. The government and the PM are scared about the Adani issue, therefore this entire controversy has been prepared," he said.

The Congress and other opposition parties have accused the ruling BJP of trying to deflect attention from the Adani-Hindenburg row and ducking demands for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the allegations of Hindenburg against the Adani Group. The Adani Group has strongly denied allegations of stock fraud and share price manipulation.