Kushinagar/Deoria (UP), May 12 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mounted a scathing attack on BSP supremo Mayawati accusing her of "shedding crocodile tears" over the gang-rape incident in Rajasthan's Alwar and demanded that her party withdraw support from the Congress government in that state if she is "serious".
On April 26, the victim was travelling with her husband on a motorcycle when the accused stopped them and took them to an isolated place off the road. They beat the husband and raped her in front of him, threatening them of dire consequences.
Her husband claimed that he had approached Rajasthan police on April 26 after the incident, but an FIR was filed on May 2. He had alleged that the police did not take action saying that they were busy with elections.
Addressing election meetings in Kushinagar and Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, "Please do not shed crocodile tears. If you are serious, why don't you withdraw support from the Congress government in Rajasthan."
BSP has given support to the Congress government in the state.
Expressing concern over the gang-rape of the Dalit woman, Mayawati had Saturday alleged that the Congress government in Rajasthan did not let the matter come to anyone's notice by "terrorising" the victim's family until the completion of the polling process there.
"Under these circumstances, the victim and her family will not be able to get proper justice. The BSP appeals to the Supreme Court to take notice for ensuring prompt justice and strict punishment to the accused," she had said.
Hitting out at the BSP chief Modi said, "Even the Congress government wanted to suppress the incident involving a Dalit woman as the party thought 'hua toh hua' (So what, it happened)."
His reference was to Congress leader Sam Pitroda's "hua to hua" remark about the in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which raised a political storm over the weekend.
Continuing his tirade at the opposition, the prime minister said, "The biggest example of how the 'mahamilawat' (highly adulterated) SP-BSP-Congress alliance actually works is Rajasthan."
"When the (Lucknow) guest house incident happened, the entire country was pained. What is the reason that you are not feeling pained now. If you are so honest about the dignity of the daughters, then you should immediately write a letter to the Rajasthan Governor and withdraw your support from the Congress government," he said.
"A Dalit daughter is gangraped and there is a government of the Congress and 'naamdaar' (dynast). And the Rajasthan government is not a dispensation which enjoys full majority. It is working with the support of BSP. It is busy in hushing up the matter," Modi said.
In the infamous Lucknow guest house incident in 1995, armed Samajwadi Party cadre had assaulted the BSP supremo when she was having a meeting there.
Attacking the Congress, the prime minister said, "The Congress which chants nyay, nyay, nyay, its naamdaar (dynast) has been silenced by the rapists. Today, the daughters of Uttar Pradesh are asking Behenji (Mayawati), and Behenji you have to answer why you have not withdrawn your support to the Congress government (in Rajasthan). You are shedding crocodile tears by only indulging in issuing statements."
"To punish those who commit crime against women, this chowkidaar of yours had made provisions for the capital punishment. If the intention of the Congress government was right, it would not have suppressed the Alwar incident, but they have only one answer 'hua toh hua'. Be it corruption, price rise or the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide, their answer is 'hua toh hua'," he said.
Polling for the Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan took place in two phases on April 29 and May 6.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being trolled on Twitter for his remarks that he had asked the Air Force to carry out Balakot airstrike on February 26 in bad weather as his "raw wisdom" said a cloud blanket would help the Indian fighter planes escape Pakistani radars.
The Twitterati, who include film personalities and politicians, have ridiculed the comments and hilarious memes have been posted by several of them.
During an interview to News Nation aired on Saturday, Modi said, "Experts were re-thinking the airstrike due to bad weather, but I said, so much cloud cover and rains could be beneficial. Maybe we could escape their radar. This was my raw wisdom, I said there could be a benefit. Ultimately I said, there's cloud cover, please go ahead."
The Prime Minister's quote was shared on the official BJP and BJP Gujarat Twitter pages, only to be deleted later.
The remarks triggered a troll-fest on all social media platforms.
Politicians, celebrities and general public took to Twitter to express disbelief, shock and even anger against the Prime Minister.
"@narendramodiji some humble advice from a citizen. Science is real. Please consult someone qualified before you speak, so you don't embarrass India in the eyes of the world," said composer and singer Vishal Dadlani.
CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said: "National security is not something to be trifled with. Such an irresponsible statement from Modi is highly damaging. Somebody like this can't remain India's PM."
Poking sarcasm, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted a screenshot of BJP Gujarat's then deleted tweet.
"Looks like the tweet got lost in the clouds. Luckily there are screenshots floating around to help."
Stand-up comedians who enjoy a massive following also added their flavour. "He's (Modi) one step away from saying he was the pilot...," comedian Kunal Kamra tweeted.
Kamra also posted several memes showing the PM standing with the GoT-Lannister family, Avengers and the blackhole picture, captioning them: "PM Modi in several timelines giving people the right advice."
Ordinary people also seemed to take a dig at Modi.
In response to Modi's favourite "How's the Josh?" comment from the Hindi movie "Uri: The Surgical Strike", social media users memed: "How's the PM? High sir"
"Don't know whether to laugh or cry. We elected him. The joke's on us #CloudCover," a twitterati said.
"Modi ... will ask ISRO to send a Spacecraft to Sun during night because it will be cooler," another wrote.
