"My Dead Mother Was Abused": PM Hits Out At Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav

In a scathing attack on the Congress-RJD alliance in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his mother was verbally abused on a campaign stage of the Opposition bloc and said this act had humiliated every mother and sister.

"In Bihar, slangs were used for my mother from an RJD-Congress stage. These slangs have not just insulted my mother, but every mother and sister in India. I know you are pained as much as I am after you heard this," the Prime Minister said after launching the Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited to provide easy funds to women entrepreneurs in Bihar.

Addressing nearly 20 lakh women on video conferencing, Prime Minister Modi said his late mother, Heeraben Modi, struggled against poverty to bring him and his siblings up. "Mother would be sick, but she kept working. She would save up every penny to get clothes made for us. There are crores of such mothers in our country. The place of a mother is higher than that of gods and goddesses," he said.

“You all know that my mother is no longer in this world. Some time ago, after completing 100 years of age, she left us all. My mother, who had nothing to do with politics, was subjected to vile abuses from the RJD-Congress platform. This is deeply saddening, painful, and distressing,” he said. 

"The slang used on a Congress-RJD stage was not just for my mother, but for crores of mothers and sisters. Princes born in royal families won't understand the suffering of an underprivileged mother and her son's struggles. These people have been born with a golden and silver spoon. They believe power in Bihar belongs to their families. But you have blessed an underprivileged mother's son and made him pradhan sevak. The naamdars (a phrase the Prime Minister uses to target political dynasts in the Opposition) cannot digest this," he said, taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, both from political dynasties.

“I want to tell those who abused my mother in front of the people of Bihar -- Modi might forgive you once, but the land of Bihar and India has never tolerated insult to a mother,” the Prime Minister said.

"There is a long list of slangs they have used against me. Sometimes they call me neech (despicable), gandi nali ka keeda (low-life), a snake and now they have resorted to calling me 'tu'," the Prime Minister said, referring to Mr Gandhi referring to him as "tu" at a rally.

A viral video from Bihar's Darbhanga district showed a group of youngsters screaming abusive words against the Prime Minister on a stage with photographs of Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav. Several Congress supporters are seen standing with party flags near the stage.

After the video circulated on social media, the BJP said it was a new low in politics. "This has crossed all limits of insult, hate and crassness. This is such a mistake that even if Rahul and Tejashwi hold their ears and perform a thousand squats to apologise, the people of Bihar won't forgive them. Extremely shameful," the BJP said on X. Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said BJP's "agents" entered the Congress event and used slang to raise a political storm. "They are frustrated over our yatra. They want to divert attention."

Leaders of the Congress and the RJD stressed that Mr Gandhi or Mr Yadav were not on the stage when the abusive words were used, and the BJP is playing up the issue to score political points.

RJD's Mrityunjay Tiwari slammed the Prime Minister for using his mother as a shield and fanning emotions for votes. "There should be no politics in a mother's name. The Prime Minister's mother is respected, but she should ensure she is not used for politics. Why does he stay silent when Rahul Gandhi's mother is abused?" Congress leader Udit Raj accused the Prime Minister of using his mother for politics.