'Modi Ji Twisted My Words': Rahul Gandhi Clarifies On 'Shakti' Remark As BJP Calls Him 'Misogynistic'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of twisting his recent ‘Shakti‘ remark, stirring controversy just before the Lok Sabha elections.

“Modi ji does not like my words. He tries to twist my statements and change the meaning, because he knows that I have spoken a deep truth,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

Explaining his comment further, Rahul clarified, “When I referred to power, the power that we are fighting, is the mask of that power, Modi ji. It’s a force that currently holds India’s voice, its institutions, including the CBI, IT, ED, the Election Commission, media, Indian industry, and the entire constitutional setup, firmly in its grip.”

Continuing his assertion, he added, “For the same power, Narendra Modi ji waives off loans worth thousands of crores from Indian banks, while an Indian farmer commits suicide when he is unable to repay a loan of a few thousand rupees. The same power is given India’s ports, India’s airports, while India’s youth is given the gift of Agniveer, which breaks his courage.”

On Sunday, speaking at a gathering of the INDIA alliance in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park after concluding his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi had invoked ‘Shakti’ to question the electronic voting machines (EVM).

“There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti? The soul of the King is in the EVM. This is true. The soul of the King is in the EVM and in every institution of the country, in ED, CBI, and the Income Tax department,” said Rahul, adding, “Our fight against Modi is not on a personal level. Modi is a ‘mask’ who works for a ‘Shakti’ (power). He is a shallow man who doesn’t have a 56-inch chest,” the Congress leader said.

Earlier in the day, in response to Rahul’s remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp attack during a public rally in Shivamogga, asserting that the INDIA bloc aimed to destroy ‘Shakti’.

“Yesterday (Sunday) in Mumbai Shivaji ground, INDIA Alliance made an announcement that they want to destroy Shakti’. If they want to destroy Shakti’ then worshipping Shakti’ is our resolve,” Modi said.

Prime Minister further stated that for him, every mother and daughter embodies ‘Shakti’, and he ‘worships’ them. “To those who are raising their voices against ‘Shakti’, I accept your challenge. I am willing to sacrifice my life for ‘Shakti’,” he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the former Congress president’s ‘Shakti‘ remarks were not only an insult to the Hindu faith but also reflected his ‘misogynistic mindset’.

“A series of INDI alliance members have said that Hindu Dharma is fraud. Ramcharitmanas is potassium cyanide. The Congress party has a long history of Hindu hatred, from denying the existence of Lord Ram to making the statement about Shakti. The statement from Rahul Gandhi in front of Uddhav Thackeray shows to what extent they can fall. Today, this is not just an insult to the Hindu faith but shows the misogynistic mindset of Rahul Gandhi, who is against nari-shakti and its manifestation,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla stated.