Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has hit out at Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar for comments critical of his wife, Amruta Fadnavis, accusing his political opponent of personal attacks because they know they cannot win next week's Assembly election. He also declared the trolls ought to be ashamed of their actions and "drown in water" for derogatory comments against his wife.
Mr Fadnavis said his political opponents - referring to the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of the Congress and the Shiv Sena and NCP factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, respectively - were targeting his wife since they could find no fault in the ruling Mahayuti of the BJP and Sena and NCP groups led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, Ajit Pawar.
"If a civilized person saw (comments) trolls made against my wife they would be embarrassed. I told my wife... we are in politics and have to be patient, and that truth can be troubled but not defeated," Mr Fadnavis told news agency ANI.
"The way they behaved and made memes about my wife and wrote bad things about her... they should drown in water. If you want to fight, come and fight face-to-face. What is this kind of war you are fighting? But I am very patient... I understand their fight and I will defeat them,' he vowed.
On Thursday Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar sparked controversy after remarks targeting Amruta Fadnavis; he dismissed the Deputy Chief Minister's wife for making reels on Instagram.
"It can't be that the responsibility of saving religion is ours, while the Deputy Chief Minister's wife is making reels on Instagram. Everyone must save the religion together," he said in Nagpur.
READ | Kanhaiya Kumar Instagram Remark Against Amruta Fadnavis Sparks Row
The comments were seen as a response to Mr Fadnavis' recent appeal for a 'dharamyuddh' to counter what he termed as 'vote jihad'. Mr Kanhaiya's jibe was swiftly condemned by the BJP, for whom spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called the comments an affront to Marathi women.
"Amruta Fadnavis' insult is an insult to every Marathi woman," he wrote on X.
Next week's Maharashtra election - the last high-profile poll this year - will see the ruling MVA go up against the MVA, which has the upper hand after a strong show in the Lok Sabha election; the Congress-Sena-NCP alliance won 30 of the state's 48 parliamentary constituencies.
The 2019 state election saw the BJP and (then undivided) Sena dominate, winning 161 of 288 seats only to falter at the final hurdle - power-sharing. Uddhav Thackeray then led the Sena into an alliance with the Congress and NCP, but less than three years into his term, Eknath Shinde led a civil war that broke the party in half and re-allied with the BJP to bring it back into power.
With input from agencies
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