Rahul is Ravana, Priyanka Surpanakha, says UP BJP MLA

Bharatiya Janata Party's MLA from Uttar Pradesh Surendra Singh has compared Congress president Rahul Gandhi to Ravana and his sister Priyanka Gandhi to Surpanakha, prompting angry reactions from the local Congress workers and swift disapproval from Union minister Mahesh Sharma.

The Congress workers too lodged a complaint on Wednesday with Ballia police against the MLA for making the remarks.

The Bairia MLA called Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ram, while likening the two Congress leaders to the villains in Ramayana.

"My Modi is in the role of Lord Ram and Congress president Rahul Gandhi is Ravana and his sister Priyanka Surpanakha," he said Tuesday.

"Ravana has put up his sister against my Ram,” he said.

“Rest assured that Lanka will be conquered," the Bharatiya Janata Party legislator said referring to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into politics.

"By appointing Priyanka as general secretary, Rahul has already proved his incapability to fight against Modi. Now the brother and the sister will fight together,” he said.

“How will they face the character and uprightness of Modi? It is a matter of honour that we have a leader like him,” he said.

Singh called the appointment of Priyanka Gandhi a “joke”.

“This is a democracy. How does the sister become a general secretary? Now the brother-in-law will also come into politics,” the MLA said.

He said “these people” are not familiar with the Indian culture, which can be looked after only by someone with a personality like that of Modi.

Singh's remarks were swiftly disapproved by Union minister Sharma, who said neither the BJP nor Prime Minister Modi supports derogatory statements against any "daughter of the country".

"The BJP is a party with discipline. If anyone, be it an MLA or someone else, makes a derogatory statement against any daughter of this country, we do not support it," Sharma told reporters on sidelines of an event in Noida.

"Neither the prime minister nor our government or our party president has ever supported such statements," he said.

Priyanka Gandhi was recently inducted into active politics by Rahul Gandhi, who appointed her the party general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi falls in this region as do the Gandhi family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi.

The MLA claimed Modi was set to become the next prime minister as well.

Earlier, he had termed Modi a reincarnation of Lord Ram who along with party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would realise the dream of a Ram Rajya in the country.

Known for making controversial remarks, Singh had also said parents are responsible for the increasing cases of rape and should not let their children roam around freely.

Meanwhile, Congress workers led by Sewa Dal's Girish Kant Gandhi Wednesday lodged a complaint with Kotwali police station in Ballia against the legislator over the remarks.

He handed over a complaint to the Kotwali police station in-charge, Inspector Shashinmauli Tiwari, who said a complaint has been received and the action will be taken on it after an inquiry.