Cong mocks PM, calls him 'Narendra Gautam Das Modi' over Adani-Hindenburg row

Pawan Khera later tweeted that he had genuinely confused the PM's name.

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday landed in a controversy after mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi while trying to establish links with the PM and Gautam Adani.

At a press conference, Khera called the PM 'Narendra Gautam Das Modi', thereby trying to take a swipe at the Prime Minister over the Adani-Hindenburg controversy.

"What problem does Narendra Gautam Das Modi has?," he said and then added, "Is it Gautam Das or Damodar Das?" Khera then laughed and accused the Prime Minister's actions are similar to Gautam Das although his name is Damodar Das.

BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed Khera and said that this is not the first time that the Congress has targeted the Prime Minister this way. "They have still not been able to accept that somebody from a humble background has risen to be such a popular leader. The Gandhis encourage these kinds of elements in the party," he said.

BJP leader Priti Gandhi added, "Pawan Khera has become so desperate to prove his credentials & worth to his bosses that he has stooped to slandering the Honourable Prime Minister's father. Absolutely Disgusting!!"

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri slammed the remark and said that Pawan Khera has dug his own grave.

"People embarrassed to use own family's name eg;'Rajiv 'Firoze' Ghandy, Sonia 'Stefano' Ghandy, Priyanka 'Robert' Vadra. PIDIS are ridiculing one who uses his legacy with pride," he tweeted.

Congress and the opposition parties have been targeting the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Adani issue. Adani group is facing allegations of fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation by a US-based short-seller. However, the company has denied all the allegations as lies.

As his comment sparked outrage on social media sites, Pawan Khera claimed that he had genuinely confused about the PM's name. He tweeted, "I genuinely got confused whether it is Damodardas or Gautam Das....[sic]"