'He remains a Pappu': Haryana CM slams Rahul Gandhi for calling RSS 'Kauravas'

"One is not able to understand what is Rahul Gandhi's direction... It is not that only we are perplexed, even Congress people are perplexed," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said.

New Delhi: A day after Rahul Gandhi attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday (January 10, 2023) said even Congress leaders are perplexed by their former chief's remarks. On Monday, Rahul called RSS members the "21st century Kauravas".

On Gandhi's remarks, Khattar told reporters, "The kind of remarks he makes, one does not understand what philosophy he follows."

"Sometimes he becomes Shiv Bakht (Lord Shiva follower) and then asks who raises (Har Har Mahadev) Jaikara, sometimes he targets Pujaris. One is not able to understand what is his direction... It is not that only we are perplexed, even Congress people are perplexed," Khattar said.

"Anyway, he remains a Pappu," Khattar said referring to the term which means naive and ignorant and is often used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to target Rahul Gandhi.

Slamming the RSS during a corner meeting in Ambala as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra on Monday, Rahul had alleged that Sangh's members never say "Har Har Mahadev" and "Jai Siya Ram" as they are against India's values and "tapasya".

Rahul Gandhi should go to RSS 'Shakha' for a few days: Haryana Home Minister

Meanwhile, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij also hit out at Rahul Gandhi and said that the Congress leader should attend an RSS 'shakha' for a few days as he knows nothing about the organisation. 

"He has no right to comment on RSS about which he knows nothing," the BJP leader said, adding that "today the country stands because of RSS".

Rahul Gandhi should go to an RSS 'Shakha' for a few days to know about RSS, he said.

Vij also took a swipe at Gandhi for saying he decided to wear only T-shirts during the foot march after meeting three poor girls "shivering in torn clothes" in Madhya Pradesh.

"Rahul Gandhi should have at least gone to the house of those girls to see how they live, where they sleep... He sleeps in a palace on wheels, which has all luxuries and is part of a fleet of vehicles that accompany him," he said.

Vij said millions of rupees are being spent on his travel and asked about the source of the funds.