Union minister Hansraj Ahir said those who have national interest in mind should not make such statements.
In his 35-minute-speech at the Hotel Intercontinental in Houston, Texas, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi did not utter a word about politics. He did not even mention his party or the ruling Congress.India had a great opportunity 60 years ago, said Varun, adding "Yet, we chose the wrong path, though with good intentions. We chose outdated ideologies then. The world was following capitalism, but we chose outdated ideas like socialism."
New Delhi
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of parliament Varun Gandhi, who was in the thick of controversy for his anti-Muslim hate speech during the 2009 Lok Sabha election, is undergoing an image makeover, or so it seems.
Taking a dig at his own party, Varun Gandhi, who has stayed away from campaigning in the Uttar Pradesh elections, has said the Bharatiya Janata Party was "spoilt for choice" and had 55 chief ministerial candidates.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi was at the centre of a controversy over allegations that he had leaked defence secrets to middleman Abhishek Verma and arms manufacturers after being "honey trapped", a charge he stoutly denied.
Gandhi has been questioning the 'Agnipath' scheme since it was unveiled on June 14 by the Centre.
Gandhi was in the eye of a storm for allegedly leaking defence secrets to controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Varun Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party candidate in Amethi Kumar Vishwas and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan were among the prominent candidates who filed nominations on the fourth day for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha election covering 64 seats in seven states.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Varun Gandhi was on Friday issued notice by the Supreme Court on a plea seeking his disqualification as MP for allegedly making vituperative speeches during the 2009 general elections.
Maneka also exudes confidence of BJP's victory in the upcoming voting in Sultanpur on May 25.
Names of BJP veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also do not figure in the list.
Varun Gandhi was on Saturday dropped as general secretary by Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah who constituted his new team, inducting former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa as vice president and new Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pointsman Ram Madhav as general secretary.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Varun Gandhi, who proposed to move the Jan Lokpal Bill as a private member's bill, believes that as a parliamentarian this was the best way he could help Anna Hazare's movement.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Varun Gandhi said he does not want to indulge in politics of caste or religion and wishes to establish a new kind of politics in Uttar Pradesh.
The Pilibhit MP, who was recently dropped from the BJP national executive, said the struggle for justice in Lakhimpur Kheri is about the "cruel massacre of poor farmers in the face of an arrogant local power elite", and the issue has no religious connotations.
On being asked what Varun Gandhi would do now, she replied, "Ask him what he wants to do. We will consider this after the elections. There is time."
Varun Gandhi contesting from the Bharatiya Janata Party and describing the seat as his late father Sanjay Gandhi's karambhoomi is seen as a comedy of errors by his opponent, Congress' Amita Singh, who asserts that while bringing in these emotions, he forgets that his father was a Congressman.
A local court has issued notice to Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi asking him to appear in court in connection with a 2009 hate speech case.
In a letter to the prime minister, the MP from Pilibhit in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh also asked him to take action against Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra 'Teni' for the violence in Lakhmipur Kheri without taking his name.
Son of the late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka, Varun has demanded an apology from Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who hosted a function at the memorial to commemorate the leader.
Voters should be able to control the political narrative in the country rather than being part of it only once in five years, BJP MP Varun Gandhi today said, asserting the right to recall is an idea whose time has come.
Kantara: Chapter 1 (Hindi) will earn between Rs 190 crore and Rs 200 crore.
'The human tragedy in Gorakhpur has left me jolted,' he said.
Varun, however, said he would not campaign against her or Rahul and Priyanka in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Mohammed Shami, who has been out of action since IPL 2025 and is not part of India's ongoing Test tour of England, was named in Bengal's 50-member list of probables for the upcoming domestic season.
'Day by day we expose how soulless we have become as a society. Every day is a disappointment.'
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi on Monday cited a Centre's note to criticise the decision of several states, including Uttar Pradesh, to impose night curfew to curb COVID.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday stayed the Uttar Pradesh government's order suspending the licence of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi over the death of a 22-year-old woman after a surgery.
In another tweet, Gandhi also expressed concern over frequent emergency landings of flights due to one snag or another at a time when domestic air fares have almost doubled.
As Varun Gandhi courted controversy by "praising" estranged cousin Rahul Gandhi, his mother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Maneka Gandhi on Thursday said her son's remark on Amethi's development was "not correct" and advised him to use his mind instead of heart while making statements.
The BJP today said in the Lok Sabha that party MP Varun Gandhi's life was under threat from an underworld outfit and demanded upgrading of his security.
The duo has been victorious multiple times from Sultanpur and Pilibhit. In the recent rejig of the BJP national executive committee, the two were also dropped from that list.
'Sunny sir keeps me distracted from my morning sickness.'
Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Prahlad Patel, Subramanian Swamy, known for his strong views on a host of issues, Suresh Prabhu, Dushyant Singh, who is the son of former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Vijay Goel, Vinay Katiyar and S S Ahluwalia are among those who have not found a berth in the new list while Union minister V K Singh is no longer a regular member and has been named as a special invitee.
Pitching for her son and Sultanpur member of Parliament, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that Uttar Pradesh would have benefited had there been a Bharatiya Janata Party led government in the state with Varun Gandhi as its chief minister.
'Team Citadel India had the privilege of meeting the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji in Serbia. What an absolute joy and honour to meet you ma'am @presidentofindia.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj held a meeting with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday morning to discuss the various aspects of the security threat to BJP Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi.However, Swaraj expressed her dissatisfaction over the outcome of the meeting. "I will not give the details of our conversation but I can tell you that there were differences in the perception of threat to Varun Gandhi," she told a press conference later in the day.
Sultanpur member of Parliament and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi and his wife Yamini were blessed with a baby girl on Monday.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Varun Gandhi has turned down the Oxford Union's invite to speak at a debate on whether India is on the right path under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he sees no merit or integrity in voicing domestic challenges at an international forum and that such a step will be a "dishonourable act".
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances