TMP MP Mahua Moitra took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday — outlining occasions where he had criticised women leaders in the Opposition. The remarks came hours after the PM slammed the RJD and Congress over its recent jibes against his mother. BJP workers have also taken out protest marches in various states over the comments made during the Voter Adhikar Yatra last week.
“From the Didi O Didi streetside hoot against Mamata Banerjee to Jersey Cow and Congress ki Vidhwa against Sonia Gandhiji to 50 crore ki Girlfriend for Shashi Tharoor’s wife…Honourable Narendra Modi has said it all. Today’s Mind Your Language speech from him is a bit rich!” she wrote on X.
When did PM Modi make these jibes?
The remarks had been made by Modi during the course of various rallies and events — each sparking outrage and backlash. The ‘Congress ki vidhwa’ jibe was reportedly made during a Rajasthan rally in 2018 as the PM discussed alleged misuse of the widow pension scheme. He had used the phrase while questioning who benefited from these schemes without directly naming Gandhi. Critics had interpreted it as an indirect jibe against the senior Congress leader. Multiple reports suggest that Modi had also called Sonia Gandhi a ‘Jersey cow’ during LK Advani’s Bharat Uday Yatra in 2004. He had later apologised for the barb.
Meanwhile the ‘Didi O Didi streetside hoot’ — as Moitra dubbed it — was used prominently before the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls. He had used the phrase while addressing multiple rallies in the state as a way to question the politicial leadership of Mamata Banerjee. He had also suggested that her political innings were coming to an end and accused the TMC chief of breaking the trust of the people of Bengal. The Trinamool Congress had pushed back against the recurring slogan — calling it disrespectful and accusing him of insulting women with the sarcastic tone of the phrase.
“Wah kya girlfriend hai. Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?(What a girlfriend! Have you ever seen a 50-crore girlfriend),” The Indian Express quoted Modi as saying during an election rally in 2012.
The then Gujarat Chief Minister did not take any names, but it was widely interpreted as a reference to Sunanda Pushkar. The Congress leader also issued a response insisting that his wife was priceless and worth a lot more than the ‘imaginary 50 crores’. The comments were linked to controversies around Tharoor’s involvement in an IPL cricket controversy in 2010.
What did PM Modi say in Bihar?
PM Modi said on Tuesday that he had never imagined such comments could emerge from tradition-rich Bihar.
“Mother is our world. Mother is our self-respect. I had not even imagined what happened a few days ago in this tradition-rich Bihar. My mother was abused from the stage of RJD-Congress in Bihar… These abuses are not just an insult to my mother. These are insults to the mothers, sisters and daughters of the country. I know… how bad all of you, every mother of Bihar, felt after seeing and hearing this! I know, as much pain as I have in my heart, the people of Bihar are also in the same pain,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)