Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS): The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday warned Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and ex-MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah to beware if "even a hair of Rahul Gandhi is harmed".

Hitting back strongly at Marwah, who reportedly issued death threats to the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Maharashtra Congress President Nana F. Patole said it reflects the ‘true face of the BJP’.

The threat by Marwah was issued on Wednesday in Delhi, when he purportedly asked Rahul Gandhi to restrain himself, or he would meet the same fate as his grandmother (the late PM Indira Gandhi), making the Congress furious.

"The BJP has a sheer allergy to the name 'Gandhi'. That is why all leaders constantly abuse and defame Rahul Gandhi. Based on a single statement by him, Marwah has threatened to eliminate him like former PM Indira Gandhi. They have crossed all limits now, and we will not tolerate it," said Patole.

Patole called upon the BJP to rein in Marwah and warned him against making objectionable and inflammatory statements or harming "even a hair of Rahul Gandhi".

The Maharashtra Congress chief reminded the BJP and Marwah that the Gandhi family had made the supreme sacrifices for the country when Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi, both ex-PMs, were martyred for the cause of India.

"Even today, the Gandhi family continues to face threats to their lives, but without fearing for his own safety, Rahul Gandhi goes out, mingles with the common masses and understands their problems," said Patole.

Labelling Marwah as "a product of the BJP's factory of hatred", Patole called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to specify their stand on the matter.

"The BJP should remember that security and safety is solely the responsibility of the government. If anything happens to Rahul Gandhi, the entire blame will fall on PM Modi and HM Shah and the Centre," said Patole.

He said that Rahul Gandhi is a leader who has directly challenged the BJP and Modi by holding them accountable, and also played a significant role in halting the BJP’s march in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Despite a campaign by the BJP and its IT Cell spending crores of rupees to defame the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, he has continued to move ahead. Today he enjoys higher credibility than the BJP or PM Modi," contended Patole.

As the BJP has failed to scare Rahul Gandhi by its propaganda machinery and defamatory campaigns, now they are talking about physically "finishing him", but the Congress will not keep quiet, he concluded.