Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he was deeply pained by the hurling of abuses at his mother during Congress' recently concluded 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, and asserted that although he may forgive RJD and the grand old party but people of the eastern state would never pardon them.
In his first reaction to the controversy over hurling of abuses at the PM's deceased mother during the yatra in Darbhanga recently, he took a dig at the opposition parties, stating that hurling of abuses at his mother was nothing for those who insult 'Mother India', and that they should be punished.
"My mother had nothing to do with politics, so what was her fault; why was she abused?" he wondered.
The PM was addressing a gathering in Delhi while virtually inaugurating a new cooperative initiative for the women associated with self-help groups in Bihar.
Further attacking the RJD, an alliance partner of the Congress, he said that the party headed by Lalu Prasad wants to take revenge from women as it was because of them that the regional party's government was ousted from power in Bihar.
"People who hurl abuses at mothers have the mindset that women are weak. Hurling of abuses at my mother was an insult to the daughters and sisters of Bihar," he asserted.
He said that Bihar's NDA government, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has always worked for the empowerment of women.
Modi virtually launched cooperative -- 'Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited' -- to provide easy access to funds at affordable interest rates to women associated with SHGs in the state.
Transferring Rs 105 crore to the bank account of the new cooperative, he said the institution will promote the entrepreneurship skills of rural women associated with SHGs in Bihar.