Press Briefing
Saturday, 11 Apr 2009
Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan addressed the media
today.
Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan said that the Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has called the
Congress a 125 year old party who ‘like an old
woman has become a burden to the country’. The
Congress with its illustrious history, dating
from pre-Independence days, and illustrious
track record, notably of the present Government
led by Dr. Manmohan Singh has no need to defend
itself from Modi’s offensive and abusive
remarks. Our record speaks for itself, and the
people of India will give Narendra Modi a
fitting answer.
Smt. Natarajan said that Modi has, however,
stated that old women are a burden to this
country, thereby shocking and outraging millions
of Indian women, and insulting their
contribution to the growth and development of
India, and their status as equal citizens under
the Constitution of India. With this statement,
Modi has exposed his brutish, callous, and
fascist mindset, by making it obvious that he
thinks women, particularly old women, are a
burden on India. The women of India, who
constitute over 50% of our population, toil
night and day for the welfare of their families
and the welfare of the nation at large. From
household duties to child care, from hard
agricultural labour to drudgery in construction
sites and factories, it is women who bear the
brunt of hard physical labour and nation
building. At the same time our society
discriminates against women in all spheres,
whether it is food security, in health, physical
security or political power and employment.
Despite this women have continued to soldier on
working tirelessly for their families and for
the country at large. In their old age, women
are entitled to the care, respect and sustenance
from their family as well as our democracy. This
is no more than their right, and something which
they have rightfully earned by reason of their
lifelong toil for the public good.
Smt. Natajaran further said that Indian culture
has always enjoined that our elders should be
treated with utmost respect and families all
over India treat their elders with love and care
and utmost respect. In fact, it is this culture
of India that sets our country apart from more
advanced countries in other parts of the world
where elders are treated as used and disposable
commodities. Narendra Modi has thus attacked the
very essence of India culture, and the soul of
Indian ethos. The women of India will never
forgive or forget this insult by Narendra Modi.
Decent men all over our country love revere and
respect their mothers, sisters, wives and
daughters. Narendra Modi’s comment is a grievous
insult to all those men who look after their
mothers and sisters with love and care. This has
deeply offended the sentiments of every family
in India, which has a senior and elderly lady in
their midst, who they look upon for guidance,
and whose needs they tend to with love. Narendra
Modi has perverted the very basis of India
culture.
Smt. Natarajan said that it has to be pointed
out that this is not the first time that Modi
has made derogatory references to women. At a
seminar on rural sanitation, he made a statement
(reported in February 2006) that ‘There is one
community which insists that their women wear
burqas in public, but to respond to nature’s
call, these women are forced to go to the
jungles, in the absence of sanitary facilities
at home’. In the aftermath of the Godhra riots,
he also infamously remarked ‘Relief camps are
child making factories’ thereby showing his
utter contempt for women, as also the fascist
and inhuman mindset typified by the RSS and BJP.
Little wonder then that the women Minister in
charge of Women’s Development in Modi’s cabinet,
is none other than Maya Kodnani, now in jail for
leading the mob against innocent civilians, in
the Godhra riots, and instigating the vilest
violation of Muslim and other women.
Significantly, it was the Modi Government which
abolished the violence against Women Cell in
Gujarat, and set up instead the Cell to monitor
inter religious marriage. Under Modi’s
Government in Gujarat, women have been subject
to terrible violence and atrocities, the worst
sufferers being women belonging to minority
communities, and the Godhra victims. Even in
Ahmedabad city surveys done by AWAG (Ahmedabad
Womens Action Group) in a project commissioned
by Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)
revealed that 58% women in Ahmedabad feel
insecure and distressed, due to horrendous forms
of physical violence perpetrated on them
including kicking and branding. Thus women will
never be safe under Modi Government, or indeed
under any BJP Government, since Modi exemplifies
the culture of the BJP in its attitude to women,
and repressive domination of women.
Smt. Natarajan said that the BJP and its sister
organizations have always ridiculed women and
accorded them a very lowly status. This is
evident in every BJP regime whether Modi’s
Gujarat, or Karnataka’s Yeddyruppa, who still
has condoned and conspired with the Sri Ram Sene,
and its dastardly attacks on young women in
Mangalore. Further, if Vijaya Raje Scindia
supported sati, Sushma Swaraj, in an unfortunate
parody of what the BJP believes widows should
do, threatened to shave her head like a widow,
if Mrs. Gandhi became Prime Minister, amply
demonstrating, that in the BJP mind set, being a
woman was the worst form of insult. The women of
India should come out in large numbers to show
their protest against the brutish statements and
actions of BJP leaders, and teach the BJP a
fitting lesson in the forthcoming Lok Sabha
elections.
Smt. Natarajan said that we call upon Narendra
Modi, and the BJP to apologize to the women of
India, particularly elderly women for his
callous and brutal remark that they are a burden
on the country. If he does not, the women, as
well as the men of India will soon show Modi
that it is the BJP and he who are a terrible
burden upon our secular democracy, and the
people will not rest until they remove this
burden from our polity, and send them packing
into obscurity.
On the question of Prime Minister making a
statement that he was not consulted on Tytler
and Sajjan Kumar, Smt. Natarajan said that she
does not have anything to add to Prime
Minister’s statement.
On a further question of Mr. Advani writing
letters and seeking blessings to win the
elections, Smt. Natarajan said that Mr. Advani’s
hopes will have to remain in realm the
‘aashirwad’ and will never get translated into
reality.
On the statement of Samajwadi Party made while
releasing their manifesto that Prime Minister
Dr. Manmohan Singh has insulted them, Smt.
Natarajan said that the people will have answer
to that. The result of the elections will show
which strategy is correct. Smt. Natarajan said
that the Congress party has a right to decide
its own strategy and how many candidates, we
want to field.
On the further question why opposition parties
were making a statement on Prime Minister after
5 years, Smt. Natarajan said that the entire
issue of flexing muscles, of tough talks is that
the BJP inspired totally misleading, insulting
maligning agenda to which the Congress party
will neither respond nor be a part of. Our Prime
Minister has performed magnificently in 5 years
and his record will speak for himself. In today,
he made some clear answer in response to the
merely wild allegation by the BJP, it shows that
BJP has become uncomfortable because of his
reply and are unable to file answer to what he
has said.
On the question of terror attack in Assam from
where Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister is the
Member Parliament, Smt. Natarajan said that Home
Minister has already made it very clear what the
issues were in Assam but we were working upon
the problem in Assam and this is the problem
which has been there even when NDA was in power.
Does that mean that Advani has been MP for 4
times from Gujarat and yet the worst communal
riots in this country happened in Gujarat? State
sponsored by the Government and the man he said
was the best Chief Minister. Does that mean that
Advani should not go to Gujarat or Guarat should
not vote for Advani. This is a completely
bankrupt statement.
On the question of Chief Minister of Haryana
going public against one of his Cabinet
Ministers Shri Virendra Singh, Smt. Natarajan
said that she is not aware of the details of
statement made by the Haryana Chief Minister.
Secondly during elections time, there may be
minor differences of opinion on issues
particularly when it comes to selection of
candidates. She does not believe there is any
serious problem. Governance will not be affected
and everything will be sorted out to the mutual
satisfaction of both sides by General Secretary
Incharge and the High Command.
On the further question of Mulayam Singh Yadav
making a statement that the Congress party could
not stitch alliance in UP, Smt. Natarajan said
that the perspective of the Congress party is
that we did not get a fair deal in the seat
allotment and did not get a rightful share.
(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC
