New Delhi, July 14 : The Congress on Friday termed as "concocted and lies" BJP's allegations that party chief Rahul Gandhi had described the Congress as a "Muslim party" and said the biggest black mark in India's history has been the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.

The party also accused the Bharatriya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to create "tension and division" among people belonging to different religions and polarize the nation.

The BJP on Friday said that a newspaper had reported that Gandhi had told Muslim intellectuals during his meeting with them that the Congress is a "Muslim party".

BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said that Gandhi should come clean on his reported statement and accused him of playing communal politics ahead of the 2019 general elections.

"The news which was reported in a newspaper about Rahul Gandhi's meeting... These are all concocted, these are not true. These were being twisted in media reports. If peace gets disrupted in the country, Home Ministry and the government would be responsible for it, not the opposition," said Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev.

Taking a dig at Modi, Dev said: "Biggest black mark in the history of India has been the riots of Gujarat and Prime Minister Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time. Till today, he has not owned up moral responsibility for that."

"If Sitharamanji is levelling allegations against the Congress party, I want to say that she is trying to create tension and division among people belonging to different religions. Congress leaders have not made any statement that would create tension," she added.

"Congress believes in secularism. Why is she silent on Rafale scam? Why is Prime Minister silent on unemployment and farmers' suicides? They should prepare themselves to reply to these questions during the monsoon session."

Sitharamanji is a responsible Defence Minister and her press statement is clearly in line with PM Modi's agenda of polarising the country before elections, she said.

"There is unemployment among youth, farmers are committing suicide, there is no trace of Nirav Modi. Just to divert attention from these questions, the Defence Minister did the press conference today (Friday) in the name of religion. She should reply to the real issues," Dev added.

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Bengaluru: A 21-year-old ward helper at the Jayadeva Hospital in Bengaluru has been arrested for allegedly recording videos of female staff member inside a women’s washroom. The suspect, identified as Yallalinga, a native of Kalaburagi, was employed as a contractual helper at the hospital in Tilaknagar.

The incident came to light on October 31 morning, when a female hospital employee found a mobile phone placed on the windowsill in the basement washroom. After unlocking the phone, she was horrified to find video recordings of herself, as reported by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.

When she came out, the suspect approached her and claimed that the mobile was his and asked for it back. She refused and began calling for help. The hospital staff caught Yallalinga, who was later handed over to the police.

The Tilaknagar police registered a case under Section 77 (voyeurism) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. During questioning, Yallalinga claimed he had mistakenly left his phone in the washroom, citing an emergency.

However, investigators noted inconsistencies, indicating the recordings told a different story. “We have continued the probe. Prima facie, it appears that it is his first offence of such nature,” police officer was quoted as saying by the publication.

Meanwhile, Yallalinga was granted bail by a local court.

The hospital has suspended him pending an investigation by the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Committee.