KOLKATA: Suvendu Adhikari's use of a crude Bengali slang to describe Congress leader Rahul Gandhi prompted several police complaints and widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum in the state on Monday.
"You are asking me about Rahul Gandhi over the last four days. Who is he, a Haridas Pal (a non-entity)? He is a g***u," the Bengal assembly opposition leader told the media in Nandigram on Monday.
Adhikari later defended his choice of words at the BJP's Salt Lake office: "What wrong have I done? I have called him stupid as is spoken in the local language."
Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said Adhikari's use of words reflected his "taste and upbringing"."He is polluting Bengal's culture. It is sad that East Midnapore, which gave us so many great freedom fighters, is now being represented by someone like him," he added.
Congress filed complaints against Adhikari in sev-eral police stations.
Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh uploaded the video clip of BJP's Suvendu Adhikari that went viral on Monday.
"What kind of language is this? In which language is the gaddar attacking Rahul Gandhi? Let this culture of obscenity and perversity end," he appealed.
State Congress leader Suvankar Sarkar told PTI: "We have complained against Adhikari for making this distasteful and derogatory remark against Rahul Gandhi. This is unacceptable and defamatory. We have urged police to take immediate action."
State Congress veteran Pradip Bhattacharya said, "Rahul Gandhi has been more successful in establishing a contact with people than BJP leaders did."
Trinamool national spokesperson Shashi Panja said on X that the "derogatory remarks" spoke of "a legacy tainted with arrogance and hooliganism" and warned him against "defiling Bengal's culture".
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