Rahul Gandhi Aide Who Branded BJP Supporters As 'Raakshas' Given Charge Of Poll-Bound Madhya Pradesh

The Congress on Thursday (17 August) appointed Randeep Surjewala, who had recently triggered a controversy over his statement on BJP supporters, as the general secretary in-charge of the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh will be going to polls later this year. Congress which had won the last assembly elections but was toppled after Jyotiraditya Scindia's revolt, is hopeful of also winning this time.

Surjewala, who is the in-charge of Karnataka, has been given the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, replacing Jai Prakash Agarwal.

Having successfully delivered Karnataka by uniting different factions of the Karnataka Congress and using innovative slogans like "40 per cent sarkara" against the BJP government, Surjewala will now be working alongside senior leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh in an effort to win Madhya Pradesh back from the BJP, reports Times of India.

Surjewala was recently appointed as a senior election observer for the poll-bound State.

The appointment of Surjewala, a close aide to the de facto party leader Rahul Gandhi, as Congress in-charge for MP election comes just days after he called BJP and its supporters 'Rakshas'.

While addressing a public event in Haryana's Kaithal, Surjewala referred to the ruling party and its voters as 'raakshas' or 'demons'.

"People of BJP and JJP are 'raakshas' and those who vote for the party and supports them are 'raakshas' too," Surjewala said, reports NDTV.

"Today, I curse from this land of Mahabharat," Surjewala said.

The BJP strongly reacted to the remarks made by the Congress leader.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticised the grand old party, suggesting that with such remarks, they have chosen to remain in the Opposition indefinitely.

Puri stated, "Repeated electoral losses have pushed the Congress into irrelevance. They are going from Congress to irrelevance".

Surjewala also faced criticism from Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for his use of the term "raakshas" to refer to the voters.

"What do Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi believe? Do you consider the public "rakshas"? Is this your Mohabbat ki dukaan?" asked Chouhan.

"You are cursing people. You consider yourself a God. Is this your 'Mohabbat ki dukaan'?," he sarcastically remarked, quoting the words of Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar - "Jab naash manuj par chhata hai, pehle vivek mar jaata hai."

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar assured that the state government will investigate the matter.

"Only a person born into a family of 'rakshas' tendency can think of using such indecent language. We will definitely take cognisance of this," Khattar said.

Following the incident, the Congress leader took to Twitter to clarify his statement, accusing the BJP of concealing their failures behind emotional issues.

Criticizing the Central government for various supposed shortcomings, Surjewala questioned whether those who have thrown the society into the "fire of hate and killed the dreams of youngsters are any less than demons?".