BJP protests against Rahul's remarks on PM

Furious with Congress president Rahul Gandhi for using "foul language" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP workers staged a noisy protest on Tuesday to demand an apology and were dispersed by police.

As Congress and BJP workers faced off against each other on the second day of his visit to his parliamentary constituency, Gandhi went to the district magistrate's office here amid tight security, officials said.

"The situation is under control now. The BJP and the Congress came face to face and police had to intervene," said Additional Superintendent of Police B C Dubey.

Congress spokesperson Anil Singh said he and other party workers were chased away by a "helpless administration" when they were objecting to the BJP workers raising slogans against their leader.

"Congress workers opposing the mudslinging on our leader by BJP workers were 'lathi charged' and chased away by the helpless administration," Singh said.

According to BJP's district unit president Uma Shankar Pandey, people of Amethi and the party staged a strong protest against the Congress chief's "unfounded allegations" and his use of "foul language" against the prime minister yesterday.

"There is 'chori' (theft) in the works of Narendra Modi -- Rafale, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, notebandi (demonetisation), Gabbar Singh Tax (referring to GST). There is theft in all these. One by one, we will prove that Narendra Modi ji is not a 'chowkidaar'. Narendra Modi is a 'chor' (thief)," Gandhi had said.

The Congress MP bad mouthed the prime minister and used foul language, calling him a thief, Pandey said.

"We demand an apology from the local MP or else we will not allow him to enter in the constituency next time he comes here," Pandey told PTI.

He said people in Amethi were ashamed they had elected an MP like Gandhi and alleged that the Congress president is himself embroiled in a land scam in the constituency and is involved in the National Herald case.

"Jo swayam chor hai, woh machata shor hai (a person who is himself a thief raises the maximum ruckus)," he said, adding that Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra faces serious charges in Haryana.

Gandhi's visit to Amethi is his first after his Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

Firing a fresh salvo at the prime minister over the Rafale jet deal, the Congress president had Monday also said the country's "chowkidar" Modi snatched money from the poor and handed it over to industrialist Anil Ambani.

"The chowkidar of the country has taken out Rs 20,000 crore from the pockets of the poor, martyrs and the jawans and put it in the pocket of (Anil) Ambani," Gandhi said at a meeting in the Jais area of his Lok Sabha constituency.

On Twitter, Gandhi posted a video relating to French publication Mediapart, which last week carried a story quoting former French president Francois Hollande that Reliance Defence was proposed by the Indian government to partner with Dassault Aviation for the contract.

"The sad truth about India's Commander in Thief," Gandhi said on Twitter, in what appeared to be an attack on the prime minister.