"Such People Untie My Shoelace": Varun Gandhi Attacks Mother's Opponent

Varun Gandhi, a BJP parliamentarian, has made a reference to his Nehru-Gandhi lineage at a rally in Sultanpur as he campaigned for mother Maneka Gandhi. Mr Gandhi attacked his mother's opponent Chandra Bhadra Singh alias Sonu Singh, a Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party's joint candidate, saying he was Sanjay Gandhi's son and he made such people untie his shoelace.

Sanjay Gandhi, a powerful Congress leader during the Emergency era, was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's uncle. He had died in a plane crash in 1980.

Varun Gandhi, the sitting parliamentarian from Sultanpur, is contesting from his mother's seat Pilibhit. Maneka Gandhi is contesting from his.

"People should fear their sins and not some Monu or Tonu," Varun Gandhi said on Thursday while campaigning for his mother Maneka Gandhi, news agency ANI reported.

#WATCH BJP LS candidate from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi in Sultanpur says, "Mai ek hi cheez aapko kehna chahta hoon, kisi se darne ki koi zarurat nahi hai....Mai khada hoon yaha pe, mai Sanjay Gandhi ka ladka hoon, mai in logon se apne jute khulvata hoon" (2.4.19) pic.twitter.com/LnA8kVDivu

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) 4 May 2019

"A human being without dignity is as good as dead. I only want to say one thing -- you don''t need to fear anyone except gods. No one can do anything to you," he added.

"I am standing here. I am the son of Sanjay Gandhi and I get my shoelace untied by such people," he said.

Maneka Gandhi, who has not lost an election in the past two decades, had won from her stronghold Pilibhit in 2014. Mr Gandhi had contested from Sultanpur and had won. His relationship with the party leadership deteriorated later as he made remarks that were against party line. Despite his differences, he got the ticket from his mother's seat.

Many leaders in Uttar Pradesh have faced the Election Commission's ire over their controversial comments. Maneka Gandhi was among them as she was barred from campaigning for 48 hours for communal comments.