Opposition leaders on Saturday sharply criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his remarks about former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Sarma, while campaigning in Uttarakhand for the state assembly elections, had on Friday castigated Gandhi for seeking proof of India’s surgical strikes on Pakistan in February 2019.

“Did we ever ask you for proof of whether you are Rajiv Gandhi’s son or not,” Sarma said in response at a rally for a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in Kiccha town in Udham Singh Nagar, according to ANI. “What right do you have to demand proof from my Army?”

The Assam chief minister questioned if Gandhi does not trust former Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat.

Assam Congress President Bhupen Kumar Borah said Sarma had insulted the state and that his remarks were “uncivilised” and “low-mannered”, reported NDTV.

Borah said that Sarma, who had left the Congress, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party to “escape” the clutches of the Central Investigation Bureau. “His statements which shows power has gone to his head,” he added.

Uttarakhand Congress leader Tilak Raje Behar called the Assam chief minister’s remarks “shocking” and “highly objectionable”.

Sarma on Friday, apparently explaining his remarks, wrote on Twitter, “Karma hits us back” and said it was “time for someone to introspect.”

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi dismiss Sarma as chief minister, PTI reported.

“Is this our Indian culture?” he asked. “Is this what has been taught in Vedas, Mahabharat, Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita? I am asking BJP National President Nadda ji. Is it our culture?”

Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Congress, said Sarma’s remarks were distasteful, PTI reported. The comments “reflected the culture of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”, he added.

On Saturday, Sarma again targeted Gandhi referring to his recent speeches in Parliament, according to NDTV.

Sarma stated that Gandhi at one point said India is from “Gujarat to West Bengal” while at another instance mentioned that “India is a Union of states”. He added, “The ghost of Jinnah as entered Rahul Gandhi.”