PM Narendra Modi attacks Rahul, asks if Congress is for Muslim men, or women as well

Launching a direct attack on Rahul Gandhi, PM Narendra Modi asked if the party belonged only to the Muslims, particularly the community's men.

File photo

New Delhi: In a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi over his remarks reported in an Urdu daily that the Congress was a Muslim party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday question the Gandhi scion if his party is only for Muslims or for women too. 

PM Modi, who was addressing a public gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, said, "I have read in the newspaper that Congress President has said that Congress is a party of Muslims, I am not surprised by this. All I want to ask is, is their party only for Muslim men or for women too? These people violate laws and attend Parliament sessions."

Launching a scathing attack on Congress, PM Modi added, "The take of these parties (including Congress) on triple talaq has exposed them. On one side the Centre is trying to make the lives of women easy, on the other side these people have grouped together to make the lives of women, especially Muslim women, difficult."

"Those who didn't even like looking at each other earlier, are now chanting Modi Modi. These people, out on bail, & the dynast parties now want to create obstacles on your path to development," PM Modi said. 

Meanwhile, the Congress has dismissed the media report as a 'rumour' and asserted that it was a party of 132 crore Indians. 

Congress' communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said on Friday when governance fails, rumours take precedence. "When the government is on the path of lying, then rumours become the main policy of the government," he told reporters.

Noting that the history of the Indian national movement and the history of the Congress are well documented, Surjewala said the Congress is a party of 132 crore Indians, and will remain
so forever. "The Congress party is a rainbow of which all religions and all castes are a part," he said. 

Earlier, an Urdu daily had reported that the Congress chief who met Muslim intellectuals on Wednesday told them that the Congress was a party of Muslims.