New Delhi, Feb 24 : After controversy erupted following Rahul Gandhi's statement in Kerala on Tuesday, the Congress on Wednesday said that the BJP is diverting from the real issues about rising oil prices, inflation, Chinese intrusion and farmers protest. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala addressing the media on Wednesday said Rahul Gandhi has given a clarion call to the people of India to question the government of the day whether in the state or Centre, on issues paramount to the people, and to ignore the superficial "Toolkit" story sold by the BJP. "The issue before the country is that GDP is nosediving, all the businesses small and medium are in ruin and shambles, the Constitution is under attack, people are under attack from BJP and have lost the right to dissent, the government has to answer on issues," he added. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi said in Thiruvananthapuram, "For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues." The Congress leader's comment triggered a North vs South debate as he described his stint as a Lok Sabha member from Wayanand in Kerala as 'refreshing' after 15 years of representing Amethi in the Lok Sabha. Taking a dig at former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, BJP national President J.P. Nadda said on Tuesday that the Congress leader has a habit of dividing people. Taking a dig at the comments made by Rahul Gandhi in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, Nadda tweeted, "A few days back he (Rahul Gandhi) was in the Northeast, spewing venom against the Western part of India. Today in the South he is spewing venom against the North. Divide and rule politics won't work Rahul Gandhiji. People have rejected this policy. See what happened in Gujarat today," referring to the BJP's landslide victory in the Gujarat municipal polls. Union Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, tweeted, "Ungrateful. The world says about him, who blabbers more than knowledge." /IANS