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The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Thursday, 10 January, issued a notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “ran away and asked a mahila (woman) to defend him.”
“We’ve asked (for an) explanation from Rahul Gandhi for why he said what he said yesterday in his tweets. The statement was pathetic, sexist and misogynistic. That’s why we’ve sent him a notice. He has to explain what does he mean when he is trying to talk low of women.”Rekha Sharma, NCW Chairperson to ANI
Here’s how the controversy unfolded.
What Rahul Gandhi Said
The Congress president, during a public rally, spoke about the prime minister not attending the Rafale deal debate in Parliament, and sending Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to “defend” him.
“The mahila (here, Nirmala Sitharaman) spoke for 2.5 hours but couldn’t defend (Modi),” Gandhi said.
Insult to Women Empowerment: Modi Slams Gandhi
On Wednesday, 9 December, PM Modi had slammed the Opposition and accused Gandhi of insulting Sitharaman. The prime minister had said Gandhi’s remark was an “insult to women empowerment.”
Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, Modi referred to Sitharaman’s reply in Parliament on the Rafale deal, and said:
“We are proud that a daughter of our country, for the first time, has become India’s defence minister. For the first time, a woman is handling the security of 1.3 billion people… This is a matter of pride… She gave befitting reply to the Opposition in Parliament, exposed their lies… They got so troubled that they are determined on insulting a woman, a woman defence minister. This not just an insult to the Defence Minister, but an insult to women empowerment in our country. These politicians will have to pay for it.”Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Rahul Reacts to Modi’s Accusations, Tweets ‘Be a Man’
Reacting to Modi’s comments, Gandhi, said in a tweet, "respect for women begins at home" and asked the prime minister to “be a man” in facing the Rafale allegations.
Twitter Slams Rahul’s ‘Be a Man’ Remark
From people associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) like Amit Malviya to Neha Joshi and senior journalists like Harinder Baweja took to Twitter to slam the ‘derogatory’ remarks by Gandhi.
The NCW Notice to Gandhi
(With inputs from ANI)
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