NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday joined the escalating political row over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the Manusmriti, accusing the Congress leader of using women’s rights as a ‘smokescreen’ to target Hinduism and challenging him to support a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).Sarma, in a post on X, said, “Rahul Gandhi is NO champion of women’s rights. He is simply a Hindu baiter, using the cause of women’s empowerment as a convenient smokescreen to target and discredit Hindu Dharma.”The Assam chief minister’s remarks came after Gandhi, during an interaction with girl students in Pune on Saturday, criticised what he called a “Manusmriti mindset” and urged women to “smash patriarchy”.Sarma questioned Gandhi’s position by asking, “Consider this: how many times has he spoken with the same outrage against patriarchal and medieval practices that persist under Sharia? NEVER.”He further argued that Manusmriti and Sharia should not be treated as equivalent sources of authority, writing, “While Sharia is foundational to Islamic jurisprudence, Manusmriti has no comparable scriptural authority in Hindu Dharma. It is not even a universally binding code for Hindus.”Sarma then directly challenged the Congress leader over the issue of a common civil law. “So here is a simple challenge to Rahul Gandhi: If women’s equality truly comes before politics, will he unequivocally support a Uniform Civil Code that guarantees equal rights irrespective of religion?” he said.Sarma also alleged that Congress had a record of compromising on women’s rights, referring to the Shah Bano case and the Triple Talaq legislation. He further claimed that Gandhi had ensured that no woman was included in the Karnataka state Cabinet.
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The remarks came after the LoP’s interaction with students, where he said women should not be defined solely through their relationships with men.Rahul said women belong to themselves and not to their fathers, husbands or sons, while describing as shameful the Manusmriti’s prescription that women remain under the authority of male relatives at different stages of their lives.Referring to a verse from the ancient text, Gandhi said, “These words are a shame. These words should not have been spoken.”The controversy has since widened, with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis among other prominent BJP faces criticised Rahul’s remarks.CM Adityanath earlier questioned Gandhi’s role as Leader of Opposition and said, “Whether you accept the Manusmriti or not is your choice, but do not acquaint people with wrong facts.”
