Historian Ramachandra Guha took a dig at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, saying that the Keralites should not make the "mistake" of electing a "fifth-generation dynast" to the parliament in  2024.

Speaking at the Kerela literature festival in Kozikhode, Guha said, "Why did you (Malyalis) elect Rahul Gandhi to Parliament. I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally. He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast." 

He urged the "Malyalis" not to vote for the Rahul Gandhi in the next Lok Sabha Elections, claiming that doing so would mean "handing over an advantage" to Narendra Modi.

"If you Malayalis make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi because Narendra Modi's great advantage is that he is not Rahul Gandhi," Guha said.

Praising Narendra Modi for his administrative experience, Guha said that Modi had "run a state for 15 years" and is "incredibly hardworking."

He also claimed that the current "religious jingoism in the country" has been caused by "betrayal of idealism by Congress" and "hypocrisy of Left."

Recently, on December 19, Bengaluru Police detained the noted historian for defying prohibitory orders during a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act in the city, and was released later in the day.

Guha was protesting against the new citizenship law implemented by the Modi government at Bengaluru's Town Hall when the police started detaining people even before the demonstration started.

PTI quoted Guha as saying that it was "absolutely undemocratic" that police were not allowing even a peaceful protest, which is the democratic right of the citizens.