Rahul to become Cong's Bahdur Shah Zafar: Raj BJP chief

Rahul Gandhi will prove to be a Bahadur Shah Zafar of the Congress as he is doing well on his pledge to end the party, said Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia on Sunday.

Poonia made the acerbic remark against the former Congress president while attacking him over his declaration that "my name is Rahul Gandhi and and not Rahul Savrakar" and "I will never apologise".

Gandhi had made the declaration in a mega rally of his party in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Saturday in reaction to the BJP's demand for an apology from him over his "Rape in India" remark.

"Rahul Gandhi has pledged to end the Congress and he was making such statements, moving in the same direction. He will prove to be a Bahadur Shah Zafar of the Congress," said Poonia, addressing a function of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad here.

Bahadur Shah Zafar or Bahadur Shah II was the last Mughal emperor. The second son Mirza Akbar or Akbar Shah II, he had ascended to the Mughal throne on his father's death in September 1837.

During his regime, the Mughal Empire had shrunk to the walled city of Old Delhi. He was deposed by the British and was exiled to Burma after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Attacking Rahul Gandhi on his "not a Savarkar" remark, Poonia said "Rahul Gandhi linking his name with the RSS ideologue (even by denial) is an insult to him".

"No one becomes great by 'Gandhi title'. Gandhi dynasty is not even worth the dust at Mahatma Gandhi's feet," said Poonia.

"The time has come when gimmick of this family will end. Ideally, the Congress and the Gandhi dynasty have been rejected by the people," claimed Poonia.

Poonia also attacked the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying "he merely curses the BJP and RSS in his every speech and has no time to pay attention to the basic problems of the state".

He alleged the chief minister always makes "undignified and controversial statements just to divert public attention from real issues".

"The people of Rajasthan are plagued with problems and the development of the state has come to a complete standstill," claimed Poonia.