Azamgarh, July 14 : Raking up the reported remarks of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi that Congress is a party for Muslims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he was not "surprised" by that but asked whether it would support Muslim women on issues like triple talaq.

Addressing a public rally after laying the foundation stone of the Purvanchal Expressway here, Modi said: "For the last two days I am hearing, that a naamdar leader (Rahul Gandhi) recently said that Congress is a party of Muslims. I'm not surprised."

"Even Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once said that Muslims have the first right over nation's natural resources."

"But I want to ask the naamdar of Congress, please tell that is the party only for Muslim men? Because they don't stand with Muslim women on issues of triple talaq and Nikah halala," he said.

The Prime Minister's attack on Gandhi and the Congress on the issue of Muslims came a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused the Congress of dividing the country on communal lines and playing a dangerous game before 2019 general elections.

Citing a report in an Urdu daily which claimed that Gandhi told a meeting of Muslim intellectuals earlier this week that Congress is a party for Muslims, she had demanded an apology from Congress President.

The Prime Minister also accused the opposition parties of not allowing Parliament to function. "They don't allow the Parliament to function. They stall the proceedings," he alleged.

Modi also said that Purvanchal Expressway will take Uttar Pradesh to greater heights. "More than Rs 23,000 crore will be spent on project. All cities, towns between Lucknow and Ghazipur, that fall on this route will witness a change," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has changed perception about Uttar Pradesh.

"Yogi Adityanath government has been able to control crime rate, corruption in Uttar Pradesh. He has contributed immensely in the state's development," Modi said.

He also said that the work on beside highways, waterways and airways is also being carried out.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday appealed to the Bangladesh interim government to ensure the atrocities on the Hindus are stopped and ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das is released from jail immediately.

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in a statement also appealed to the Indian government to continue its efforts to stop the atrocities on the Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and take necessary steps to build global opinion in its support "as soon as possible".

"The attacks, murders, looting, arson as well as inhuman atrocities by Islamic fundamentalists on Hindus, women and all other minorities in Bangladesh are extremely worrying and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh condemns this," he said.

Instead of stopping this, the present Bangladesh government and other agencies are only silent spectators, Hosabale said.

"Out of helplessness, a new phase of injustice and atrocities seems to be emerging against the Hindus of Bangladesh to suppress the voice raised by them in a democratic way for self-defense," the RSS general secretary said.

"It is unjust for the Bangladesh government to send ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is leading the Hindus in such peaceful demonstrations, to jail," he added

Bangladesh Police earlier on Monday arrested International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area in Dhaka while he was travelling to Chittagong.

"The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh appeals to the Bangladesh government to ensure that the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh stop immediately and release Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das from imprisonment," Hosabale said.

"The RSS also appeals to the Indian government to continue its efforts to stop the atrocities on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and take necessary steps as soon as possible to build global opinion in its support," he added.

At this crucial time, the RSS general secretary said, India and the global community and institutions should stand with the victims of Bangladesh and express their support, and demand that their respective governments make every possible effort to ensure that atrocities on the Hindus and other minorities are stopped in Bangladesh immediately.

This is necessary for world peace and brotherhood, he added.