In an apparent reference to Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Tuesday accused that ‘‘certain Congress leaders’’ were behaving like ‘‘pets’’ even as his statement drew criticism from his own party and the Congress.

‘‘Certain utterances from some leaders were a disgrace to democracy,’’ Rudy said while hinting at Singh's recent statements swearing his loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

However, a number of BJP leaders maintained that Rudy's comment was ‘‘eminently avoidable’’ and that it was ‘‘unbecoming of his status as spokesman’’ . While refusing to say anything on record, the other two party spokespersons said that they were ‘‘not pleased’’ with the observation. Though one of them maintained: ‘‘It's not that other parties have not used more offensive expressions.’’

Rudy, meanwhile, defended his statement, saying: ‘‘Ours is a highly evolved democracy, but certain people want us to believe that it's a family-run enterprise. It's in this context that I used the expression pets.’’ A top BJP leader, however, said that political discourse shouldn't be allowed to "degenerate" to this level. ‘‘Civility must not become casualty of partisan politics,’’ party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

Meanwhile, the Congress condemned Rudy's comme-nts, saying the remarks spoke of the ‘‘absence of basic courtesy and culture" in the BJP. "To make statements like this speaks of the lack of culture and basic courtesy in the party," AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari said.