Varun Gandhi's supporters pelt stones at Allahabad BJP MP's house for criticising Maneka Gandhi

Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi pelted stones at Allahabad MP Shyama Charan Gupta's residence here on Monday after he criticized Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi for commenting that her son should be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Varun's supporters also burnt Gupta's effigy in front of his house. "An MP should not use such words and he should apologise as soon as possible, we have burnt his effigy and we will keep condemning if any such incidents happen in the future," Amir Goswami, one of the protestors said.

Addressing a public meeting in her parliamentary constituency of Pilibhit last month, Maneka had said that it would be better if the Uttar Pradesh Government was headed by the BJP and even better if Varun was governing the state. She made the remarks while blaming the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party regime for the slow pace of development in the state. "I think he is doing very well. It's his second time as Member of Parliament and he is very comfortable in it. He does a lot of reading. He writes articles for a large number of newspapers. He is a very well informed young man and I am happy with his progress," Maneka had said.

Reacting to Maneka's suggestion, Gupta had on Saturday reportedly said, "It is a statement made in haste. She should not have said this. Like her, others will also pitch in for their children."