Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Friday that a statement by him favouring Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had been misinterpreted, ANI reported. He said that his statement on Thursday was taken in a wrong context, and he was only describing the reality of the current political situation.

He said the Congress party had found a “leader” in Rahul Gandhi, three years after he used to be mocked as “Pappu”. Now, the situation is not the same, Raut said.

Raut had, in a television discussion on Thursday, said that Gandhi was capable of leading the country and the Narendra Modi wave had faded.

“In that TV discussion, I was asked to give my view on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, to which I said that he wasn’t the old Rahul Gandhi he used to be three years ago,” Raut told ANI. “He is now the vice president of the Congress. Many things have changed.” The situation is not the same, he said.

Raut added: “I had said that Rahul is capable of leading India, but it does not mean that he should become the prime minister of India.”