Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday refused to apologise for his “Rape in India” comment made at an election rally in Jharkhand the previous day. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday strongly objected to Gandhi’s remarks and created a ruckus in Parliament. Union Minister Smriti Irani castigated Gandhi and said that this is the first time in history that a “leader is giving a clarion call that Indian women should be raped”. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said people who make such remarks have no right to be part of the House.
BJP MPs shouted slogans against the Congress leader and demanded an apology from him.
On Thursday, Gandhi spoke about the rising crimes against women in the country and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The prime minister had said ‘Make in India’ but nowadays wherever you look, it is ‘Rape in India,” he said.
1.16 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demands apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “burning North East, destroying India’s economy” and for calling Delhi a “rape capital”.
1.15 pm: Rajya Sabha has also been adjourned Sine Die.
12.55 pm: The Congress MP accuses BJP of making this a problem to deflect attention from the protests in North East against amendments to Citizenship Act. “I have a clip on my phone in which Narendra Modi ji is calling Delhi a ‘rape capital’, will tweet it so that everyone can see,” he adds.
12.52 pm: “I said the prime minister keeps talking about Make In India. So when one opens the newspaper one hoped that one would see news about it, but what do we see when we open the papers,” Gandhi asks. “We see so many cases of rapes.”
12.50 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refuses to apologises for his comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports ANI.
12.26 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned Sine Die.
12.20 pm: BJP MP Locket Chatterjee attacks Gandhi in Lok Sabha, ANI reports. “Modi ji said ‘Make in India’ but Rahul ji said ‘Rape in India’, he is welcoming everybody that come and rape us...this is an insult to Indian women,” she alleges.
12.10 pm: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh criticises Rahul Gandhi’s comments in Lok Sabha and says people who make such remarks have no moral right to be a member of the House. “The prime minister is promoting ‘Make in India’ so that the country becomes an export youth capital and generates employment opportunity. But equating that idea with something so vile, is hurtful to not just me but the entire country,” he adds.
11.36 am: Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12 noon after ruckus over Gandhi’s comments.
11.35 am: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi defends Rahul Gandhi “Rape in India” comment and says Congress leader was trying to highlight the growing incidents of rape cases in India, reports ANI. “The prime minister said ‘Make in India’, which we respect, but what is happening in country,” she asks. “That is what Rahul Gandhi intended to say. Unfortunately ‘Make in India’ is not happening and women in the country are being raped. This is a concern.”
11.30 am: Members shout slogans against Rahul Gandhi. Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu says “you cannot take the name of a person who is not a member of this House”.
11.25 am: Union Minister Smriti Irani castigates Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha, reports ANI. “This is for the first time in history that a leader is giving a clarion call that Indian women should be raped,” she says. “Is this Rahul Gandhi’s message to the people of the country? He should be punished.”
11.15 am: Uproar in Parliament over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Rape in India” remarks. Members demand an apology from him.
Addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Godda district on Thursday, Gandhi had said: “Narendra Modi had said ‘Make in India’ but nowadays wherever you look, it is ‘Rape in India’. In Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi’s MLA raped a woman, then she met with an accident but Narendra Modi did not utter a word”.
11.10 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other parliamentarians pay tribute to mark the 18th anniversary of the 2001 terror attack on Parliament, reports ANI.