NEW DELHI – Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has come under fire formisogynistic remarks when he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “be aman” and not field a woman, the defense minister, to defend him in debatesover a controversial fighter jet deal.
He mocked Modi yesterday for staying away from parliament as it discussedaccusations of corruption against the government in a deal to buy 36 Rafaleplanes from France.
Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled India fordecades, often calls Modi a “thief” while the prime minister addresses himas “privileged dynast” in most of his public speeches.
Gandhi’s comments drew widespread criticism on social media. Some peoplesaid Sitharaman – the second woman to run the defense ministry after thelate Indira Gandhi, a former prime minister and Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother- deserved an apology.
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Sitharaman has not commented but her cabinet colleague, Sushma Swaraj, saidGandhi’s comments hit a “new low in the history of Indian politics”.
