BJP and Congress trade charges.
The Congress today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that it was a party for Muslim men only highlighted his "sick mentality".
Modi during his speech in Azamgarh yesterday had come down heavily on the Congress over its stand on triple talaq, asking if it was a party for Muslim men alone."The prime minister has continuously hurt the dignity of his office. We strictly oppose what he said yesterday. It shows his sick mentality and twisted mindset," senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said.
"There is an attempt by him to divide society... His main opposition, the INC, led the national movement, spearheaded the fight for independence... to call it a Muslim party does not behove a PM. "His sick mindset is an issue of national concern. The prime minister gives out statements which are wrong as per history and facts, Sharma said. The Congress leader said Modi was the prime minister of the entire country and not only of the BJP.
He said Modi had "less knowledge of history and writes his own history".
Modi needs to be reminded that Congress presidents such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Maulana Azad were iconic leaders, he said. "It will be better if he keeps a list of Congress presidents in his office. Maybe then he will leave his habit of giving wrong statements," Sharma said. The Congress, he said, was a party "for all Indians and respects the diversity the country has to offer".
He also said the Congress was against triple talaq and the prime minister should know that there were some rules and regulations that need to be followed in Parliament.
"This government has tried time and again to bypass Parliament. They want to get bills approved without the scrutiny of Parliament," he alleged. The prime minister had yesterday said the opposition was stonewalling the government's efforts to secure the life of women, especially Muslim women. The triple talaq bill has already been passed in the Lower House, but remains pending in the Rajya Sabha amid opposition reservations over it.
Sharma alleged that the prime minister was a "peddler of untruths".
Instead of giving an account of the last four years, "the prime minister is resorting to untruths, half truth and lies", he alleged. "The Congress does not need any certificate from Narendra Modi or the BJP about its credentials, ideologies or credibility and commitment to the country. It is very well documented," he said. Sharma also said that he can understand the prime minister's helplessness as he belonged to an ideology, the followers of which had even opposed Mahatma Gandhi.
BJP again raised questions:
A combative BJP on Sunday questioned Rahul Gandhi's "silence" over his reported remarks that the Congress is "a Muslim party", saying it has no place for Muslim women. The BJP also hit back at the Congress for alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a "sick" mentality after he accused the opposition party of standing only for Muslim men.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, The shameful allegations made by the Congress leader against the prime minister only showed their desperation." He said that Gandhi has not yet given his party's support to the government's initiatives on instant triple talaq, despite the Supreme Court banning the practice. Taking on the Gandhi scion over his reported remarks in an Urdu daily that the Congress is a Muslims party, Prasad said he is now "patronising" the minority community.
When Rahul Gandhi goes to Gujarat for elections, he becomes a janeudhari (one who wears the sacred thread) and flaunts his Brahmin lineage. He does the same in Karnataka. Now when the elections are over, he starts patronising the Muslims," he said. "The issue is why Rahul Gandhi is maintaining conspicuous silence. Why he is not speaking, Prasad asked.
He said that Gandhi in the presence of then prime minister Manmohan Singh at a lunch hosted for Hillary Clinton had alleged that "saffron terrorism and extremism" is more dangerous than the Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is a matter of record, he said. "It is strange that whenever Rahul Gandhi is cornered, his party invokes his family legacy which is absolutely meaningless," he said, adding that the Congress president has to explain his own conduct
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