Rebel Congress MLA Aditi Singh on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi over his remarks "comparing" his present Wayanad parliamentary constituency to his previous Amethi seat.
Hitting out at the former Congress president, Singh said that he shouldn't have said "such things about Amethi that taught you ABC of politics". Rahul Gandhi should apologise to people of Amethi and the north, she added.
"Rahul Gandhi gave wrong statement. Maybe he meant well & didn't want to project it like that but it's wrong if you belittle your previous constituency while praising your current one. You say other parties divide but you yourself talk of divisions," news agency ANI quoted Aditi Singh as saying.
"You say such things about Amethi that taught you ABC of politics, where your ancestors received respect and victories & from where you reached Delhi. We're one nation. Humans make errors, he should apologise to people of Amethi & people in north," she added.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi addressed an event to mark the conclusion of 'Aishwarya Kerala Yatra' in poll-bound Kerala. He said he had been an MP for 15 years from the north and had used to a different type of politics and coming to Kerala was very refreshing.
"For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues not just superficially but they like to go into detail about issues," Rahul said.
"I was talking to some students in the United States and I said to them I really enjoy going to Kerala. It's not just affection but the way you do your politics, the intelligence with which you do your politics. So, for me, it's been a learning experience and a pleasure," he added.
BJP leaders have also lashed out at Gandhi over the same. BJP president JP Nadda accused him of "spewing venom against the North". "A few days back he was in the Northeast, spewing venom against the western part of India. Today in the South he is spewing venom against the North. Divide and rule politics won't work, RahulGandhi Ji!" Nadda said in a tweet.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress of trying to create a "north-south" divide in the country. "Wherever Rahul Gandhi has landed, Congress has been grounded. Rahulji had earlier made north India free of Congress and now he has headed southwards. For us and the people, the entire country is one. Congress wants to divide the country into north and south. People will not allow these attempts to succeed," Chouhan said in a tweet.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also took a dig at Gandhi over his remarks and said "never run down a region, never divide us". "I hail from the South. I am an MP from a Western state. I was born, educated and worked in the North. I represented all of India before the World. India is one. Never run down a region; never divide us," he said in a tweet.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Gandhi of "practising cheap politics" and resorting to regionalism. "Rahulji, Atalji had once said that India is not just a piece of land, but a living 'Rashtrapurush'. Please don't try to divide it for your cheap politics by the sword of regionalism. India was one, is one, and will always be one," he said.
(With ANI inputs)
