Congress, BJP spar on Twitter over Rahul Gandhi's train journey

CHANDIGARH: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to grain markets in Punjab on train has triggered a war of words on Twitter between the party's state leaders and BJP here.

BJP leader and Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij had taken to the microblogging site on April 29 to say that Rahul on a train looked like "a child had run away from his home".

"After looking at the pictures of Rahul Gandhi sitting in a train like a terrified and scared child, which appeared in newspapers, it appears like a child had run away from his home," he said in a tweet.

Taking strong note of Vij's comment, senior Congress leader Ajay Singh Yadav retorted, "Vij before using unkind words about Rahul Gandhi should realise that he looks like a beggar who needs few coins and immediate bath."

Yadav, a six-time-MLA from Ahirwal region of Haryana had lost at the last hustings, while Vij romped home victorious for the fifth term from his Ambala cantonment constituency.

In an attempt to reach out to grief stricken farmers, Rahul had taken a train to Punjab and visited grain markets in Sirhind, Gobindgarh and Khanna. He also toured Vidarbha region of Maharashtra which has seen a number of farmer suicides.