The saffron Gandhi

The great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, the founder of the modern, secular Indian republic, shot to the spotlight as a CD of a speech he had made last month was leaked to the media.

In it, Varun Gandhi, the youngest member of the famous family, is seen threatening to ‘cut off the hand' of any Muslim who dares to threaten a Hindu. Varun also speaks about sending all Indian Muslims — more than 14o million — to Pakistan.

While the comments from the young extremist were blood-curdling, there was a method to the madness. They were designed to polarise the masses before the general election later this month.

Initially, Varun's party, the Hindu nationalist BJP, distanced itself from the comments. But later, having suddenly discovered the potential the comments have for garnering extra votes, it put its weight behind its candidate.

Varun was behind bars after being arrested for inciting hatred against Muslims.

Born in 1980, he is the son of Sanjay Gandhi, who was killed in an aircrash when Varun was just two months old. His politically ambitious mother Maneka Gandhi fell out with Indira, and is today a member of the BJP, too.

India's Election Commission has condemned Varun's remarks and, in a rare move, urged the BJP to drop him as a candidate.

Varun, who is making his political debut in the election, condemned the EC decision, saying he was “astonished that such harsh censure should be used without any attempt to ascertain the truth''.