‘Extremely misogynist, pathetic’: Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi gets NCW notice over ‘be a man’ tweet

Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi has landed in trouble over his ‘be a man’ tweet. On Wednesday addressing a rally, Gandhi had attacked PM Modi and said, “The chowkidar (watchman) with a 56-inch chest ran away and told a (mahila) woman, (Defence Minister Nirmala) Sitharaman ji, defend me. I won't be able to defend myself, defend me.” Later, he took to Twitter and said that, “With all due respect Modi Ji, in our culture respect for women begins at home. Stop shaking. Be a man and answer my question: Did the Air Force and Defence Ministry object when you bypassed the original Rafale deal? Yes? Or No?”.

While both the Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah slammed Gandhi for this acerbic remark, the National Commission for Women on Thursday issued a notice to the Congress chief. “The remarks made are extremely misogynist, offensive, unethical and shows an extreme disrespect towards dignity and honour of women in general,” the notice read.  

 

National Commission for Women (NCW) issues notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his statement "PM ran away & asked a 'mahila' (Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) to defend him" pic.twitter.com/xTAyqNeXg1

— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2019

In his public meeting a few hours later in Agra, Modi accused Congress leaders of insulting all women in the country. PM Modi said Sitharaman had floored the Opposition in the Lok Sabha by coming up with "fact after fact" on the Rafale deal. "They are bent upon insulting a woman defence minister," he said, without naming Gandhi.

"This is not an insult to a woman, but an insult to entire India's women power, for which these irresponsible leaders will have to pay the price." The prime minister said it was a matter of pride that a woman had become defence minister for the first time in the country.

Meanwhile, away from the political slugfest, the Indian Air Force is planning to deploy Rafale fighter jets at strategic air bases near Pakistan and China, News Nation has learnt. As part of change in the current structure, the Indian Air Force will deploy Rafale squadrons at Haryana’s Ambala and West Bengal’s Hashimpura bases respectively. At present, the number 3 ‘Cobra’ squadron of MiG-21 Bison fighter jets has been deployed in Ambala since 1997. But with Rafale taking over the fighter base in next two years, the ‘Cobra’ squadron will be shifted to Rajasthan’s Nal air base.

The air force has almost completed the shifting process soon Ambala skies won’t see the famous MiG-21 fighter jets. The air force has also confirmed the development.