Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Saturday triggered a controversy when he called Congress President Rahul Gandhi a “schizophrenic” and a “sewer worm”, NDTV reported.

“While the PM is like the sky, Rahul Gandhi is like naali ka keeda [sewer worm],” Choubey said while addressing a programme in Bihar’s Sasaram.

Choubey said Gandhi should be admitted to a mental asylum for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a liar, The Statesman reported. Last month in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi lashed out at Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, claiming they had not been truthful about the Rafale deal.

“Rahul Gandhi is calling himself great, intelligent, perfect,” Choubey said. “Rahul Gandhi is suffering from mental schizophrenia. A schizophrenic calls another person mental but doesn’t know his own state of mind.”

Choubey’s comments drew criticism from the Opposition, reported PTI. The Congress said the BJP has exposed its “fake respect” for Hindu traditions by insulting Gandhi when he is on a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar.

Choubey’s remarks come a few days after Union Minister Uma Bharti called Gandhi “mentally unstable” for his remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. “Rahul’s statement that the Congress was not involved in 1984 Sikh riots was a blatant lie as all cases related to the riots were filed against Congress leaders,” she had said.