Rahul has no understanding of India, says Kumar Vishwas

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas, who is preparing to contest against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in the Lok Sabha election, Thursday said the Congress vice president "does not have an understanding of the country".

Vishwas accused the Congress of propagating "dynastic rule" during a discussion at the "Panchayat Aaj Tak" here, with his comments drawing retorts from actor Nagma who represented the Congress.

Singer Manoj Tiwari from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and comedian Raju Srivastava of the Samajwadi Party were also part of the interaction.

Vishwas said he knew he was rewriting history by contesting from Amethi.

"He (Rahul Gandhi) does not have an understanding of the country. He is the future of a big party. Hence, I am making an effort," he said.

The poet-turned-activist accused Gandhi of not being able to bring benefits of central government schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to the people of Amethi.

"Amethi lags behind in MNREGS and has high women mortality rate and malnutrition," he said.

Vishwas said that around 12 pregnant women died or suffered miscarriage because of the potholed road between Amethi and Rae Bareli, the constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi's mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"When you could get ordinance repealed (on convicted politicians), you should have done it for them who have sent you (to parliament)," he said.

Nagma countered Vishwas's remarks about Rahul Gandhi, saying the AAP leader wanted to raise his stature by contesting against the Congress vice president.

She also criticised Vishwas over some remarks related to women, which were denied by the AAP leader.