The Congress and the BJP have been sparring since the air strikes by the IAF at Pakistan's Balakot

Political discourse hit a new low today as the BJP's Shrikant Sharma, a minister in Yogi Adityanath's government, of the BJP, in a tweet, used the slur "impotent" for the Congress. He got called out by Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal, which, however, took the discussion down by another notch, citing the Prime Minister.

In a Hindi tweet two days ago, Mr Sharma, who is in charge of the energy portfolio in Uttar Pradesh, said: "The comments issued at the behest of coward eunuch Congress chief Rahul Gandhi are shameful. The entire world is standing with BJP government's strict action against terrorists but Congress and party is weakening India's fight against terrorism with their disgusting remarks."

The RJD, which has an alliance with the Congress in Bihar, responded today.

"How do they know that Rahul Gandhi is impotent and Narendra Modi is not? The nation wants to know. When their chief's language is so objectionable, his track record so controversial and covered in blood, it is foolish to expect parliamentary language and behaviour from his disciples," read their tweet in Hindi.

Mr Sharma told NDTV that the Congress had failed to act after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai and so he called the party as "coward" and "impotent".

The Congress and the BJP have been sparring since the air strikes by the Indian Air Force at Pakistan's Balakot. With various foreign news agencies questioning India's claims on the air strikes, the opposition parties, including the Congress, have demanded evidence of damages and casualty. It has also slammed the BJP, accusing it of using the air strikes for political purposes ahead of the coming national elections that begin on April 11.

Various leaders of the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers, have roasted the Congress for expressing doubts. The Congress stance, they said, was playing into the hands of Pakistan. Many BJP leaders have accused the Congress of being stooges of Pakistan.