Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Lakshman Singh, who is also the brother of former state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said Rahul Gandhi is just a party MP and not a big leader. The comment came at a press conference where the leader was asked about Rahul Gandhi’s accusation that when he speaks in the Lok Sabha, the Lok Sabha broadcast does not show him much. “Don’t consider Rahul Gandhi as a great leader, I don’t,” the Congress leader said adding that one becomes a great leader not by birth, but by his or her actions.

The comments triggered a controversy as BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala, who was in the Congress once, said Congress party leaders are losing confidence in Rahul Gandhi. “Digvijay Singh’s brother’s statement is perhaps for the Congress party. The president of the party is Mallikarjun Kharge but Rahul Gandhi is the face of Bharay Jodo Yatra and other yatras. When there are talks about the PM’s face, all Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah ji put forward Rahul Gandhi’s name. In fact, when Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal proposed Mallikarjun Kharge’s name, the Congress did not accept it,” Shehzad said.

“First, the public rejected Rahul Gandhi. He lost over 40 elections and two Lok Sabha elections. Then his allies like Kejriwal and Mamata expressed no confidence in him. And now, Congress leaders are voicing the same lack of confidence in Rahul Gandhi. So, now the party should take note of it and decide how long the party would run like a family shop,” Shehzad said.

In the last meeting of the INDIA bloc, Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee proposed Mallikarjun Kharge’s name for the PM face from the opposition. Kharge rejected the proposal and said the focus should be on winning the election.

What did Digvijaya Singh’s brother say?

“Rahul Gandhi is just a party worker. He is just an MP. Apart from that, he is nothing. You (media) people too should not highlight Rahul Gandhi so much, nor should we. No one becomes a great leader by birth, one becomes great by his/her actions. Don’t consider Rahul Gandhi such a great leader, I don’t,” Lakshman Singh said.

“You (media) people should not highlight Rahul Gandhi so much and neither should we,” he said.

Clarifying his comment to news agency PTI, Lakshman Singh said Rahul Gandhi himself said he is just a party worker. “We all are party workers,” Lakshman said.