Modi takes dig at Renuka for her laughter, she hits back

New Delhi:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at Congress member Renuka Chowdhury over her loud laughter at his claim that the idea of Aadhaar was conceptualised during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

“Chairman sir, don’t stop Renukaji. Ever since seeing Ramayana serial, for the first time I have got an opportunity to see such a laughter,” Modi said, to the thumping from the treasury benches.

The Prime Minister’s remark came after Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu warned Chowdhury over her behaviour.

“I will have to name you Renukaji for your unruly behaviour,” remarked Naidu after Chowdhury laughed at the Prime Minister’s claim over Aadhaar.

While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Modi said that the Congress keeps saying we brought Aadhaar.

“Let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha on July 7, 1998, L. K. Advani as Home Minister of the country said in reply to a question that a multi purpose identity card will also be used for passport, driving licence and others. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar,” Modi said.

Later talking to reporters Chowdhury described the Prime Minister’s jibe as anti-women.

“He (the Prime Minister) has made a personal comment which denigrates the status of women. If he would have spoken this outside parliament then there would had been a case against him according to law,” she told reporters.

“How can a Prime Minister speak like this? This shows his culture. I can’t go to that extent,” she added, branding the BJP and the Modi-led NDA government as anti-women.

CPI(M) leader T.K. Rangarajan also hit out at Modi and the BJP over the issue.

“This government is anti-women. When Women Reservation bill was brought in Rajya Sabha, they supported it and today when I moved an amendment over the same issue they voted against it. They are male chauvinists,” Rangarajan told reporters.

He said that the BJP is now seeking to divide the Muslims on the issue of triple talaq. “They are not for women.”

IANS