Amit Shah's animals' remarks 'disrespectful', reflect his 'mentality': Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Slamming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the former's "disrespectful statement" against opposition parties by equating them to animals reflect his "mentality". Rahul further said, "We don't take what Amit Shah says with too much seriousness."

In a scathing attack on political rivals, Shah had on Friday equated the parties, trying to join hands against the BJP, to 'snakes, 'mongoose, 'dogs' and 'cats'. Later, he, however, said that his intention was not to equate Opposition parties to animals.

"When huge floods occur, everything is washed away... Only a 'vatvriksha' (banyan tree) survives and snakes climb onto it, mongoose climb on it, cats climb onto it, dogs climb onto it, cheetah climbs onto it and lions climb onto it because of the rising waters.

"The flood caused by Modi has made all cats, dogs, snakes and mongoose to come together to contest polls," Shah had said during the rally.

The BJP chief was apparently referring to the efforts being made by various parties like the TRS, the Trinamool Congress and the TDP to form an alliance and counter the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in the 2019 general elections.

Addressing a press conference, Shah had defended his statement and said, "What I meant was political parties having no ideological similarities are coming together out of fear of Modi."

"Snake and mongoose have nothing in common. Let me take names: Samajwadi Party and BSP, Trinamool Congress and Congress, Chandrababu Naidu and Congress, they have nothing in common and no ideological similarities, but are coming together," the BJP supremo had said.

In his address at the rally on the occasion of the BJP's 38th Foundation Day, Shah had earlier expressed confidence that the BJP will win the 2019 polls, "not by giving hollow assurances but on the basis of work done by the Modi government."

(With inputs from DNA)