Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said that the Congress leader’s statement was “horrendous” and a “matter of shame”. (File Photo) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said that the Congress leader’s statement was “horrendous” and a “matter of shame”. (File Photo)

Describing Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Rape in India’ as ‘horrendous’, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said it was a matter of shame that the senior Congress leader was speaking by forgetting about the dignity of women.

“We’re talking about women & their dignity. I could’ve definitely gone hammer & tongs on that matter…It’s a matter of shame that a senior leader of Congress speaks forgetting about the dignity of women,” Sitharaman said when she was asked about Gandhi’s remarks while she was addressing a press conference called to talk about steps taken by the government to boost the economy.

“We may belong to the opposition parties, but when we talk about the country, I assume that all of us will be one,” she added.

Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally in Jharkhand, 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.” The former Congress president was referring to the Unnao rape case, where expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar is an accused.

Modi should apologise. 1. For burning the North East. 2. For destroying India’s economy. 3. For this speech, a clip of which I’m attaching. pic.twitter.com/KgPU8dpmrE — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 13, 2019

Following his remarks, the BJP demanded Gandhi’s apology for his comments, with Union Minister Smriti Irani saying, “This is the first time in history that a leader is giving a clarion call that Indian women should be raped. Is this Rahul Gandhi’s message to the people of the country?” Demanding an apology from Gandhi, the minister said the remarks amount to political mockery and that he should be punished.

Gandhi, on the other hand, said he would never apologise and instead demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should do so over an old video in which he claimed that Delhi had turned into a “rape capital” under the UPA dispensation. “As far as their (BJP’s) demand for apologising, I am never going to apologise to them,” he said.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd