New Delhi: A political slugfest broke out between the Congress and the BJP after Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed Home Minister Amit Shah for asking a group of Manipur politicians to remove their shoes before stepping into his New Delhi residence.
Speaking first from the Opposition side in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Gandhi demanded an apology from Shah while narrating how a political leader from Manipur told him that he felt insulted over allegedly being asked to take off shoes when he went to meet the home minister.
It represents the idea of a Union of states versus the "idea of a king", the former Congress chief alleged.
Mr Gandhi said he had proof of the incident.
The accusation led to an uproar inside the house as MPs said that it is not true. To that Rahul Gandhi said, "I also told them that this is not true. But they told me they have photographs."
His comments did not go down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers who hit back at him almost immediately after his remarks in Parliament.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal accused Mr Gandhi of hurting religious sentiment and "attacking India's religious traditions" by raising the topic.
"We always leave shoes outside... he is completely out of his mind," said Union Minister Prahlad Joshi.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congress leader, raked up an old incident for which he has mocked the Gandhis repeatedly over the years.
"Mr. Rahul Gandhi, those who prefer to feed biscuits to dogs in the presence of leaders from Assam and then offer them the same biscuits should be the last people to talk about political decency. High command mindset is Congress' be all and end all. The people of India know it well," Mr Sarma tweeted.