Bhavnagar: Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seat and Botad MLA Umesh Makwana has made a controversial remark, stating that kings in the past used to be under the influence of opium.

Just two days after Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi made a controversial statement against the Rajas and Maharajas, another statement has come from the leader of Congress Party’s INDI Alliance partner, AAP.

AAP leader Umesh Makwana, said, “The British brought opium into the country. The Rajas and Maharajas were powerful and invincible, so they (British) made them opium addicts. The opium slowly got mixed into their blood through their veins, and Raja Maharajas used to lie around under the influence of opium, and that is how the British took control of the Rajwadas (Kingdoms).”

When the reporter asked Makwana whether he was going to retract his statement, Makwana said, “I stick to my remarks. I am not Parshottam Rupala; I am Umesh Makwana. Umesh Makwana has never retracted his statement.”

This statement comes amid a backlash against Rahul Gandhi’s statement which he gave during a public meeting in Bellary on Saturday. Gandhi had said that Raja Maharajas used to do whatever they liked, and they used to snatch the land of people.

On the other hand, Union Minister Parshottam Rupala and BJP’s candidate from Rajkot Lok Sabha seat is also facing protests for his alleged controversial remarks, in which he mentioned the rulers were involved in Roti-Beti Vyavhar with the British (a relationship involving breaking bread together and interfaith weddings between the families of rulers and Britishers). DeshGujarat