NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 'rape in India' remark, stating that it is a matter of 'shame' that a senior leader of Congress party has forgotten the dignity of women.
"We are talking about women and their dignity. I could have definitely gone hammer and tongs on that matter ... It is a matter of shame that a senior leader of Congress speaks forgetting the dignity of women," Sitharaman said targetting Rahul here at a press conference.
ALSO READ | Rahul's 'Rape in India' remark: Women BJP MPs seek EC action against Congress leader
Earlier in the day, Gandhi refused to apologise for his remark and alleged that the issue is being raised by the BJP to deflect the attention of people from the protests in the North-East.
"I will not apologise ... I have a clip in my phone in which Narendra Modi Ji is calling Delhi a 'rape capital', will tweet it so that everyone can see. The main issue is Narendra Modi and Amit Shah set North-East on fire. Just to deflect attention from the protests in North-East, this is being made an issue by the BJP," he told reporters here.
ALSO READ: Slammed for 'Rape in India' remark, Rahul asks Modi to apologise for these three things
Both the Houses of Parliament today witnessed uproar as BJP members demanded an apology from the former Congress president. Addressing a poll rally in Jharkhand on Thursday, Gandhi had said that Modi had launched 'Make in India' but nowadays it is 'Rape in India'.
"Narendra Modi had said 'Make in India' but nowadays wherever you look, it is 'Rape in India'. In Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi's MLA raped a woman. Then she met with an accident but Narendra Modi did not utter a word," he had said.