A Congress leader has mocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief, Amit Shah, contracting the swine flu virus.

K Hariprasad, a Congress MP, has said, “Because of everything that is happening in Karnataka, Amit Shah has panicked and has contracted a virus. It is not normal fever. It is swine flu — suar ki beemari.”

He said this in context of the two parties exchanging poaching charges in Karnataka.

The state has been in a major political turmoil ever since Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar accused the BJP of trying to upstage the government by indulging in horse-trading. The BJP, in turn, alleged the Congress party was trying to influence the saffron leaders.

To this end, Hariprasad further said, “If he [Amit Shah] tries to topple the Karnataka government, he should know, he will suffer from an upset stomach too.”

Amit Shah on Wednesday tweeted that he was suffering from swine flu. He was admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi.

Shah had written: “I have been diagnosed with swine flu for which the treatment is underway. With God’s grace and good wishes from all of you, I will recover soon.”

This came even as the political circle in Delhi remained tense over the health of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who has rushed to the US for treatment.

While the news about Jaitley was met with an outpouring of support and good wishes, Shah’s tweet did not see much of a reaction.

Responding to Hariprasad’s jibe, senior BJP leader said it showed the discourse, which Congress had resorted to, to one-up the saffron party.

Another BJP leader and Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said he was sad, but not suprised.

He tweeted, “Sad but not surprised to see Congress leaders completely abandon decency and dignity. Such cheap statements show the frustration of Congress leadership.”