New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, days after he invoked the ‘Manusmriti’ while interacting with female students during the ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ programme in Pune, accusing him of insulting the ‘Sanatan Dharma’.
During the Pune event, LoP Rahul Gandhi criticised the Manusmriti for confining women to restrictive roles.
He noted that ‘Manusmriti’ (the ancient text) suggests a woman must live for her father in childhood, her husband in youth, and her sons in old age, adding that the notion that women should never be independent is unacceptable and shameful.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rohan Gupta questioned why the LoP had to invoke Manusmriti while taking a stand for women.
“Rahul Gandhi has not made any comment on Triple Talaq till date, I can challenge that. The Union government passed the law against Triple Talaq to benefit the Muslim women who have been a victim of it, why did the Congress oppose it? Aren’t our Muslim sisters, women as well? Where was Rahul Gandhi then?…This is his double standards to insult the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ in order to make a point,” he remarked while speaking to IANS.
The BJP leader also said: “Does he (Rahul Gandhi) have the courage to talk about Quran and Bible?…he cannot do politics by every time insulting the Sanatan Dharma.”
Shiv Sena Spokesperson Shaina NC added: “Rahul Gandhi has engaged only in appeasement politics, and whenever any woman raises her voice, what is the need to bring up Manusmriti? Why don’t you discuss how you are providing them with education, safety, and self-reliance? You have no agenda, vision, or plan for that. Your focus is solely on controversial statements, appeasement politics, and vote banks.”
On Monday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also lashed out at the Leader of Opposition, accusing him of selectively invoking women’s rights to target Hinduism and challenging him to unequivocally support the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
In a post on social media platform X, Sarma questioned Rahul Gandhi’s position on gender equality and alleged that the Congress leader had repeatedly criticised Hindu religious texts while remaining silent on what he described as patriarchal practices associated with Sharia.
“Rahul Gandhi is no champion of women’s rights. He is simply a Hindu baiter,” the Assam CM said, alleging that women’s empowerment was being used as a “convenient smokescreen” to discredit Hindu Dharma.
Referring to CM Sarma’s remarks, BJP leader Ashok Bajpai said: “Himanta Biswa Sarma has made a very good point because Rahul Gandhi has never had any concern for women or for a large section of Indian society. Nor has he ever spoken about their welfare. However, his intent is to criticise Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma and finding faults in them. From the beginning, his politics has been atheistic and anti-Hindu.”
Echoing a similar view, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said that remarks made by Assam CM Sarma is the consequence of Rahul Gandhi’s actions.
He referred to the Congress MP as a “failed leader”, adding: “Despite that, he (Rahul Gandhi) is doing politics only to establish himself as a leader, even at the cost of the nation.”
“His (Rahul Gandhi’s) careless actions, despite being the Leader of Opposition, is hurting his own party (Congress),” Khandelwal told IANS.
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