india

Updated: Nov 21, 2017 22:25 IST

Indian Youth Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja apologised on Tuesday evening for a jibe the outfit’s online magazine took at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s humble beginnings.

The apology came after the Congress took a dim view of the post put out by Yuva Desh.

“INC strongly disapproves & rejects such humour through memes. Differences on policy and opinion aside, Congress culture imbibes respect for PM and all political opponents,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

The post was taken down following widespread criticism.

“This blatantly classist and anti-poor tweet by the Youth Congress shows their mindset towards India’s poor. Does Crown Prince @OfficeOfRG support this?” Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani asked of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Tweeting the apology, Raja said Yuva Sandesh was being run by volunteers. “Although the handle @Yuvadesh is being run by youth volunteers and not by @iyc, we do not approve of such humour and apologise. Despite political differences with the BJP & having suffered everyday abuse from their leaders, we respect the Prime Minister & all political opponents,” he said.

Earlier, Congress secretary in-charge of Youth Congress Suraj Hegde had said the Congress respected people from all backgrounds and professions and treated all equally. “…ManmohanSingh also comes from a very humble beginning, country is proud of him,” he tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi termed the post as distasteful. “Absolutely distasteful language & doesn’t go with Congress’ ideology. Hope @yuvadesh has taken down the tweet and apologised for it,” she tweeted.

Rachit Seth, a member of the communication department, clarified that the Yuva Desh account was run by volunteers and separate from the official handle of the Youth Congress.

The Congress and the BJP are fighting a pitched battle on social media ahead of the Gujarat election. Modi’s home state will vote in two phases, on December 9 and 14.

A late bloomer, the Congress in the last few months has made its presence felt on social media, with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi taking Modi and the government head-on with wit and sarcasm.