Parinay Phuke calls Rahul Gandhi 'urban Naxal', questions Congress protest against SIR

Nagpur: BJP MLA and former minister Parinay Phuke has called Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi an 'urban Naxal'. The remark relates to the agitation Gandhi is leading against SIR, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Phuke questioned the Congress's politics and its opposition on the issue and launched a sharp attack on the party.

Phuke alleged that the Congress is needlessly opposing the process of cleaning up the electoral rolls. According to him, it is essential that only genuine and eligible voters are named on the rolls.

Reacting to the agitation Gandhi is running against SIR, Phuke put the Congress's stand in the dock. He claimed that verifying and purifying the electoral rolls is necessary for the democratic system.

The BJP MLA also raised the issue of removing the names of Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims from the rolls. He accused the Congress of playing politics over it. In Phuke's view, the Congress is giving the matter a political colour.

Phuke's 'urban Naxal' remark about Gandhi is likely to escalate the political controversy. The BJP and the Congress have already been trading charges over SIR, and Phuke's statement has sharpened the political debate further.

The claims being made about Bangladeshis and Rohingyas being included in, or removed from, the electoral rolls can be settled only on the basis of the relevant official data and records. Phuke's allegations and statements are his own, and the Congress's response to them is not recorded here.