Sultanpur: Attacking Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from Sultanpur Chandra Bhadra Singh, BJP candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi sparked a fresh controversy on Saturday by referring to the ‘Nehru-Gandhi’ lineage at a rally in the state, where he said that “such people” untie his shoelaces.

“I am the son of Sanjay Gandhi. I get my shoelace untied by such people,” he said while campaigning for his mother Maneka Gandhi, adding that nobody had the courage to speak to him or raise their voice against him. His statement was captured on video and has now gone viral.

Asserting that the election is about the “pride” of the country, he said, “A human being without dignity is as good as dead. You don’t need to fear anyone except God.” Then, taking a jibe at Chandra Bhadra Singh, he added, “People should fear their sins and not some Monu or Tonu.”

Late Sanjay Gandhi is the son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and uncle of AICC president Rahul Gandhi. He was one of the most powerful Congress leader during the Emergency era. He died in a plane crash in 1980.

It can be recalled that on April 12, Maneka had also stirred a huge row by telling the Muslims of the Turab Khani village in Sultanpur that she would not want to give them jobs if they did not vote for her.