I am Mrs Modi, insists Jashodaben

PM Narendra Modi's estranged wife Jashodaben seldom speaks in public. So, it was a trifle surprising when she went out of the way to put Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel in her place for suggesting that Modi was unmarried.

Anandiben had made the statement at an anganwadi function in Madhya Pradesh. Jashodaben wasted no time in coming out with a statement saying the claim that Modi is not married is false. In a video clip that has gone viral, she is seen reading out a statement saying that her husband is like Lord Ram to her and people should stop maligning his image. “An insult to Jashodaben is an insult to the prime minister,” she is heard saying in the clip.

The video was shot on a mobile in Unjha, North Gujarat, where she stays, by one of her relatives who does not wish to be named.

In the video, Jashodaben, who introduces herself as Jashodaben Narendrakumar Modi, is seen wearing a colourful saree and mangalsutra. She states in the video that while filing nomination papers from Vadodara and Varanasi Lok Sabha constituencies, PM Modi had mentioned her as his wife. “I have the copies of the forms that were filled,” she says.

Speaking to IANS from their hometown Uncha, Ashok Modi also confirmed that it was indeed Jashodaben talking in the video

Jashodaben also says in the clip, "It is very unbecoming of a well-educated woman (Anandiben, former CM of Gujarat) to speak like this of a teacher (Jashodaben). Not only this, her conduct has tarnished the image of the Prime Minister of India. He is very respectable for me, he is Ram for me."