Raipur, Jun 23 (PTI): Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Chhattisgarh Saroj Pandey called Rahul Gandhi "mand buddhi" (slow-witted), which drew a sharp rebuke from the opposition Congress.

Speaking at a gathering on Thursday at Durg, Pandey said that Gandhi's body language showed that he was keen to learn. He went on add that those who were still learning after the age of 40 were slow-witted.

"The kind of statements the national president of the opposition party (Rahul Gandhi) makes is surprising," she said.

"The way he behaves and his body language suggest that he is trying to learn but there is an age for learning. A person who learns after his 40s is called mand buddhi," Pandey told the gathering of intellectuals and other eminent persons.

The Chhattisgarh Congress condemned Pandey's statement and said it reflects the BJP's mentality.

"Saroj Pandey is suffering from mental bankruptcy and it is not her fault but that of the RSS-nurtured culture of the BJP," state Congress spokesperson Shushil Anand Shukla said in a statement.

He added that the BJP and its leaders were getting worried, frustrated and threatened over the rising popularity and acceptance of Gandhi. Pandey had last October stoked a controversy by stating that the eyes of those attacking BJP-RSS workers in Kerala would be gouged out.