Describing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s "panauti" comments against Prime Minister Modi as “below the belt’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said people will give befitting reply to it in the upcoming assembly elections.

“Whenever below the belt language was used about the Prime Minister, people have given a befitting reply in whichever state in the country. I am confident that voters of Telangana would give a fitting reply through voting on this language which is below the belt,” Shah said.

He was replying to a query posed at a press meet here on 'panauti' remark made in election campaigns.

A Hindi slang, "panauti" loosely refers to someone who brings bad luck.

Rahul Gandhi had used the "panauti" barb against Modi during his poll speech in Rajasthan after the PM had attended the World Cup cricket final that India lost to Australia after 10 consecutive wins in the tournament.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama had recently termed Gandhi’s remarks as “despicably poor.’ She alleged that he is continuing the Congress tradition of calling all abusive names of the Prime Minister.

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