Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh answers as Rahul Gandhi insists ministry doesn't exist

Union Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi again, for his repeated claim that fishermen had no representation at the Centre, as he vowed to set up a Ministry for Fisheries in the country. 

Recalling that the Wayanad MP himself asked a question to the Fisheries Ministry in the Parliament just weeks ago, Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of creating a confusion among people. 

"Rahul Gandhi had himself asked a question to the Ministry of Fisheries in the Parliament. When he could not find any faults in the answer, he decided to go around the country and create confusion. Is this mere absence of mind or a conspiracy?" the Minister said in a tweet.

He also shared the images of the written reply that was submitted by his Ministry in response to the Congress leader's question.

READ | 'BJP Attacks My Every Step,' Posts Rahul Gandhi After Unleashing 'north Vs South' Angle

While interacting with fishermen at Kolllam's Thangassery beach in poll-bound Kerala on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi reiterated that fishermen were the farmers of the sea and that they did not have a Ministry to represent them in Delhi, unlike the farmers. He vowed to set up a Ministry for Fisheries 'the first thing' when he is elected to power in the future.

The Congress leader said the Ministry would protect and defend the fishermen and address their issues - once again ignoring the present Ministry of Fisheries under Union Minister Giriraj Singh. Rahul Gandhi had previously made a similar remark on fishermen while he was touring Puducherry. He was then schooled by the Fisheries Minister in Hindi, English, and also Italian, that there already existed a Ministry to address the issues of the fishermen. 

READ | Rahul Gandhi Unmoved By 'Caro Raul' Jibes; Fishes In Kerala & Insists There's No Ministry

Rahul Gandhi faces BJP's wrath

During a rally amidst his campaigning in Kerala's Trivandrum ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday compared people belonging to North India and South India based on politics. "My experience now since I have been an MP, I have also got to understand the wisdom of people of Kerala. For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing because suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in the issues," the Wayanad MP said. 

READ | 'Rahul Gandhi Lacked Commitment To His Constituency, Chased Out Of North': Anurag Thakur

Moments after his remark, several BJP leaders stormed Twitter against Gandhi's divisive comments. BJP national President JP Nadda said that the "divide and rule politics won't work" while reminding him of the Gujarat Civic body elections results which saw BJP's landslide victory. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju asked the Wayanad MP not to abuse Amethi and North Indians by stating that the people of Amethi had given him and his entire family enough chances.

READ | Jaishankar Schools Rahul Gandhi Over 'North Vs South' Politics, Says "India Is One"