Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned emotional on Tuesday as he spoke about the insults directed at his late mother during a political event in Bihar. The row began in Darbhanga during Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra,’ where a man shouted abusive slogans against PM Modi’s mother from a Congress–RJD stage.
“My mother was abused from the stage of RJD-Congress in Bihar," the Prime Minister said, appearing visibly shaken. “Mother is our world. Mother is our self-respect. I had not even imagined what happened a few days ago in this tradition-rich Bihar.”
The Prime Minister was speaking while launching a cooperative programme aimed at empowering rural women. The scheme is designed to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship and self-reliance through self-help groups (SHGs). Addressing more than 20 lakh women via video conference, he said, “These abuses are not just an insult to my mother. These are insults to the mothers, sisters and daughters of the country.”
He added, “I know, as much pain as I have in my heart, the people of Bihar are also in the same pain.”
The incident occurred on August 28 after a video went viral showing a man hurling Hindi abuses at the Prime Minister’s mother. The accused, identified as Mohammad Rizvi alias Raza (20), was arrested from Darbhanga’s Singhwara area.
Invoking the struggles of mothers across the country, PM Modi said, “A poor mother, through her struggles, provides education and values to her children, instilling noble virtues. That is why a mother’s place is considered even higher than that of gods and goddesses.”
He criticised the Congress and RJD leadership, saying the sacrifices of ordinary mothers cannot be understood by “young princes born into royal families.”
“These honourable people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. The power of the country and Bihar seems like an inheritance of their family to them,” he remarked.
Calling the attack “deeply hurtful,” PM Modi questioned why his mother, who had no role in politics, was dragged into political battles.
“That mother of mine, who has nothing to do with politics, who is no more, was abused from the stage of the RJD, Congress. Sisters and mothers, I can see your faces; I can only imagine the pain you must have felt. I can see tears in the eyes of some mothers,” he said.
He recalled how his mother had once separated him from herself so that he could serve the people. “Now my mother is not alive. Some time ago, after completing 100 years of age, she left us all,” he added.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also condemned the incident. “Rahul Gandhi should apologise if he has any shame left. The nation is watching him and his party in disgust,” Shah said.
Criticising the yatra, he added, “The Ghuspetiya Bachao Yatra is to protect the Congress’s vote bank, but in any democracy, an election is its soul. How can a nation be safe if infiltrators are allowed to pollute the system?”
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