CHENNAI: BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran on Sunday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over a mimicry performance involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public event in Indore, calling Rahul a part-time politician and accusing him of undermining the dignity of parliamentary democracy.

In a statement, Nainar said Modi was an elected Prime Minister who had enhanced India’s standing on the global stage and condemned the performance as an attempt to ridicule him.

The remarks followed criticism from BJP leaders over a mimicry performance at Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Indore on Saturday. A comedian mimicked Modi during the event, and footage of the performance was subsequently circulated on social media.

Nainar alleged that Rahul had repeatedly resorted to such conduct out of frustration over successive electoral defeats.

Calling Rahul a part-time politician, the former minister alleged that the Congress leader appeared on political platforms occasionally, staged what he termed cheap theatrics and then returned to his leisure life.

“How will the people of India accept such a person as their leader?” he asked, alleging that Rahul was directing his frustration at Modi.

The BJP leader accused Rahul of forgetting the basic dignity expected in parliamentary democracy and urged him to abandon what he described as theatrical politics.

“His daydream that he can divert the people through cheap theatrics on public platforms will never succeed,” he said.

Nainar also asked Rahul to introspect and act responsibly, warning that otherwise only such clownish roles would remain in his political career.