Why silent on wife? Rahul to Modi
Cong V-P also says Gujarat govt, cops ‘stalked’ woman; BJP says it knows ‘Gandhi family secrets’ too
In his first personal attack on Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP’s PM candidate of suppressing his marital status for years and said a woman was “stalked” in Gujarat allegedly at his behest.
The remarks indicate a sudden aggression in the Congress, which is now taking the fight to Modi on moral grounds, arguing that as someone who aspires to be PM, he has betrayed the country by hiding the important facts of his life. This is also a big departure from Rahul’s earlier stance of asking his party colleagues to desist from personal attacks.
“Don’t know how many elections he has contested till now, but he has revealed for the first time that he is married. In Delhi, he talks about the honour of women, but his own wife’s name doesn’t reach the affidavit,” Rahul told a poll meeting in Doda, J&K.
Soon after, the Congress approached the election commis-- sion with a complaint a gainst Modi. “I have filed a petition with the EC seeking action against Modi… for hiding facts in his election affidavits regarding his marriage,” law minister Kapil Sibal said.
In his poll affidavit in Vadodara, Modi for the first time put the name ‘Jashodaben’ in the spouse column, which he’d left blank in past assembly polls (2001, 2002, 2007 and 2012).
Condemning the “interference” in Modi’s personal life, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I know many secrets of the Gandhi family too from Nehru, Indira and Rajeev, but do not want to disclose them.” In Chhattisgarh, Modi said, “They are not willing to give an account of their own work and yet they go around asking Modi to explain himself.”
Rahul also attacked Modi on his alleged links with the Adani group, saying, “Advani was thrown out… Jaswant Singh was thrown out and Adani was taken in.” On Snoopgate, he said, “The CM’s office, police was engaged in tapping the phone of a woman… The CM wanted to know what was happening around her. If these are anything to reveal the BJP’s true face, then what of its claims of empowerment of women.”
The Centre has been criticised for its failure to name a judge to head the Snoopgate probe but on Friday, Sibal said, “We have not backed out. We have to only name the judge. We know the judge. The timing of the announcement will be decided.”
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Gauriganj on Saturday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, rahul’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and senior party leaders are likely to be present. Rahul had been first elected from Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and re-elected from the seat in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has fielded television actor Smriti Irani while Kumar Vishwas is the Aam Admi party against Rahul. The BSP has fielded Dharmendra Pratap Singh.