Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut sparked a political row on Saturday after referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "aghori" and a cruel person, prompting a sharp response from the BJP.
The BJP said Raut had insulted both Modi and Gujarat by suggesting that the prime minister comes from the "land of Aurangzeb", adding that the opposition's frustration has reached new levels.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Raut said he had never seen such an "aghori" in politics and claimed Modi's overall character inspires fear.
"Never before has such an 'aghori' person been born in this country's politics. Never before has someone so cruel emerged. This country has produced great leaders, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Balasaheb Thackeray. But when we look at Modi's entire character, it creates fear. Where has such a person come from?" he said.
"He comes from the same soil that produced Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb was born in Gujarat, wasn't he?" he added.
Reacting sharply, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the remarks show that the opposition has reached "new levels of frustration" and is now targeting not only Modi, but also Gujarat.
"They have reached new levels of frustration and are now not only abusing Prime Minister Modi and a constitutional office, but also insulting the entire state of Gujarat," Poonawalla said in a video statement.
He alleged that the Congress and its allies have repeatedly used derogatory language against Modi in the past and continue to do so out of political frustration.
"The Congress party and its allies have crossed the line. Rahul Gandhi has used the choicest words against Prime Minister Modi. They have hurled over 150 abusive words against the prime minister. Now, Congress ally Sanjay Raut has used the choicest abuses against the prime minister. He has gone even further and insulted the state of Gujarat, saying it is the land of Aurangzeb. This shows their mindset," he said.
Poonawalla said opposition leaders are resorting to abusive language because they do not have any substantive criticism of the prime minister.
"They continue to use such language because they do not have any real criticism against the prime minister. Therefore, they constantly resort to abuse. The people of India will make them pay a price yet again," he said.
The BJP leader also accused the opposition of disrespecting constitutional offices and claimed that repeated use of such language has led to its electoral defeats. "In their opposition to Modi and the BJP, they can insult constitutional offices. They abuse the president and the elected prime minister because he comes from an OBC family and because he comes from a tea-seller's family," he said.
"They keep using the worst kind of language and then claim to represent love. In reality, they do not represent love, they represent abuse and insults. This abusive politics has led to their defeat election after election. Yet they do not improve," Poonawalla added.
(With inputs from PTI)
