Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his ‘derogatory’ remarks linking educated women to his State’s fertility rate. Speaking in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Modi also slammed the leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc for not speaking out against Mr. Kumar’s statements.
“Those who watch TV would have noticed an event. A very senior leader of the INDI Alliance, who is carrying the flag of the coalition and is playing various games to dethrone the current Central government, said such vulgar things in a language which nobody can imagine, in the Assembly where mothers and sisters were present,” Mr. Modi said, speaking at a rally in Guna.
“He has no shame,” the PM added.
‘Mysogynistic, vulgar’
Mr. Modi was referring to Mr. Kumar’s remarks on birth control in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday. “The husband’s acts lead to more births. But with education, a woman knows how to restrain him. This is the reason the numbers [of births] are coming down. Earlier it [the fertility rate] was 4.3, but it has now reached 2.9. And soon we will reach 2,” Mr. Kumar had said.
The remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which has termed them as “misogynistic, vulgar, sexist and patriarchal”, leading Mr. Kumar to apologise on Wednesday.
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‘Insult to women’
“Not one leader of the INDI Alliance is ready to speak a word against such an insult to mothers and sisters,” Mr. Modi said.
“Those who keep such a view towards women, can they do any good to you? Can they protect your honour, can they respect you?” the Prime Minister asked the women in the crowd. “How low will you stoop? You are getting the nation insulted in the world,” he added.
Slams Congress on OROP, free ration extension
Addressing another rally in Morena, the Prime Minister alleged that the Congress misled the servicemen for four decades with the One Rank One Pension (OROP) Scheme by only allotting ₹500 crore for it. “Even they knew that the OROP was not possible in ₹500 crore. We gave the guarantee of implementing the OROP and have paid ₹70,000 so far to our ex-servicemen,” he said.
Mr. Modi also charged at the Congress claiming that it kept the soldiers “dependent” on foreign weapons and “not providing” them with good facilities. “Terrorists used to behead our soldiers and the Congress government would sit idle and just give statements. Congress leaders used to ask for help from other nations after terror attacks in the country,” he said, adding, “But now, the forces respond to the terrorists in their own language.”
The Prime Minister’s remarks on the issues related to national security hold significance in Morena which falls under M.P.’s Gwalior-Chambal region, from where youth aspire to join the defence forces in large numbers. The BJP, which only managed seven seats from the 34-seat strong belt, has been campaiging aggressively in the region. It has also fielded Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as a candidate from the Dimani seat in Morena district.
Mr. Modi also accused the Congress of “hatching a conspiracy to snatch the ration” provided to the poor for free of cost under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. “Congress leaders have gone to the Election Commission against me to complain saying the Modi cannot do this (extend the scheme for five years). Shouldn’t the Congress be punished for this?” he said.
The Congress has alleged violation of the model code of conduct by the Prime Minister for announcing an extension of five years for the scheme during the ahead of elections in five States. The party has demanded the EC to act on the matter.
The Prime Minister has been on an election tour of Madhya Pradesh, which goes to the polls in less than 10 days.
