A day after LoP Rahul Gandhi targeted PM Narendra Modi over his remark that he was sho­cked to hear girls using abusive lan­guage during the Jantar Ma­ntar protest, BJP dismissed his ev­ent as a “political comedy show” with Congress countering that Gandhi’s appeal among youth has rattled the ruling party.

CM Devendra Fadnavis termed Gandhi and Congress’s stance hypocritical while opposing the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament. “Rahul Gandhi makes big statements about women empowerment on stage. But when it came to passing the Women’s Reservation Bill, he and his party staunchly opposed it. This shows the double standard of Rahul Gandhi and Congress,” he said.

“He does not want to give rights to women. I believe his words don’t match his actions,” he said.

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At the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Pune Saturday, Gandhi said even though both boys and girls used abusive language during the protest, the PM “felt a cultural shock because girls used such a language”. “If boys abuse, there is no problem, but if a girl abuses, it is a cultural shock,” he had said.

Maharashtra BJP media cell in-charge Navnath Ban challenged Congress to name party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra party chief. BJP Maharashtra vice-president Keshav Upadhye said Gandhi did not address genuine student concerns and described the event as “yet another political comedy show”.

Hitting back, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “BJP has sensed the ground slipping under its feet. It is trying to hold on through a communal agenda, but it will backfire.”

Congress national secretary Sachin Sawant claimed BJP had lost sleep over “unprecedented response” to Gandhi’s interaction.