Indore, Nov 18: Posing a question to Congress president Sonia Gandhi about her "silence" on the issue of atrocities against women in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said it was a "serious matter". "Despite the fact that Sonia is the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, she has remained silent on the issue of atrocities against women in Madhya Pradesh, specially on the issue of replies given by her party government in the state assembly in this regard," Modi told reporters here.

"Hindustan mein itni badi matra mein mahilaon ka utpeedan aur kahin nahin hua" (in India, no where else have atrocities against women been committed on such a large scale), he alleged. "Why did Sonia remained silent on such an important issue for the last five years? He asked.

"Even in such constituencies where such atrocities were committed on a large scale, the MLAs were repeated by her party," he said adding the silence of Sonia on this issue was a "serious matter".

On Judeo issue, he said it was plotted by the Congress Party as it did not have any issue for the coming assembly polls in the state. He also criticised the Congress Party for allowing CBI-chargesheeted Chief Minister Ajit Jogi to remain in his post.

Bureau Report