Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said BJP does not respect a woman's identity.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday slammed the BJP and RSS for the alleged harassment suffered by the Nuns belonging to a Kerala based congregation during a train journey in Uttar Pradesh and claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah had condemned it only because of assembly polls.
Addressing a rally at Karunagapally in Kollam district,Ms Vadra said, "It's election time. That's why when the sisters (nuns) were taken off a train in Jhansi and harassed by their own people, the Union Minister made a comment saying it's wrong. The rest of the time, they fully encouraged this sort of behaviour."
"Who gave the men of the BJP youth wing permission and authority to harass women on a train? Who gave them the right to check the identity papers of the Nuns and two girls with them. Who allowed them to ask what their religion was? Are we to believe that in our country women cannot take a train without being harassed by someone and she is answerable to some goons about what she stands for and what she believes in?" she asked.
The Congress leader said she had spoken on the phone to the Nuns and they told her that they were worried. They were pulled out of the train, they were afraid and there was nobody to protect them, shesaid adding when the BJP and the RSS make "hollow" statements about protecting women, it's a "farce because they don't respect women".
Except during election time, when they want women's votes, they spend all their time telling women what to wear, how to dress, how to work, where to go and how to go there.
"Their ministers comment on women's jeans. One of their ministers said there should be a law that when women leave their districts, they should register with the police. So that they will be safe as if women are not capable of looking after their own safety," said Ms Vadra, who is on a two day tour of Kerala, where assembly polls are to be held on April 6.
Urging the women voters not to allow any politician to take them for granted, she said BJP does not respect a woman's identity.
"They will only call you mother, sister, daughter. They do not respect your identity as a woman. We are proud to be mothers, we are proud to be wives, we are proud to be sisters, daughters. But over and above it all, we are proud to be women.. You are the strengthof this country, you are the strengthof Kerala, you are the strength of this society. You carry it on your shoulders."
Describing the BJP government at the Centre as "weak", Ms Vadra said they cannot even tolerate a joke and get a comedian arrested even before he has lampooned them.
"They cannot tolerate dissent, argument. They cannot tolerate you standing up for yourself," she added.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)