BJP MLA Surendra Singh has been known for making controversial comments in the past.
A BJP MLA in Uttar Pradesh, who said rapes can only be stopped if parents teach 'sanskar' or values to their daughters, has hit back at top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the latter slammed him for his controversial remarks on Sunday.
The Congress MP had termed the comments of MLA Surendra Singh a "filthy RSS male chauvinist mentality at work". The BJP leader made the statement amid massive outrage over the alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old woman from Hathras, who died in Delhi last Tuesday.
"Rahul is a person of dual character and foreign mentality. He is totally ignorant about Indian culture," Surendra Singh, the BJP MLA from UP's Ballia, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Monday.
"He will understand the definition of nationalism if he takes tuition from nationalists. He could not understand the crux of the country's culture. The dual characters of Rahul and Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra) became obvious during their journey to meet the victim's family in Hathras. While they were laughing during their journey, they shed tears at their homes," Mr Singh said.
The Congress leaders had met the family of the Hathras victim on Saturday evening, after an earlier attempt by them was scuttled by Uttar Pradesh authorities, who briefly detained them and other Congress workers in Greater Noida outside Delhi. They have declared that they will fight for justice to the Dalit woman who died a fortnight after being allegedly gang raped on September 14.
The woman had been assaulted by four men from the so-called upper caste community from her village. She was found by her family in the fields, allegedly naked, bleeding, with multiple fractures and a gash in her tongue. The police claimed her tongue was cut because she bit it while her attackers were trying to strangle her.
Surendra Singh has been known for making controversial comments in the past. Last year, he had said that Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi "was not a terrorist" and he "committed a mistake". Earlier this year, he commented on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she is a "cruel-hearted woman".
(With inputs from PTI)