Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the Manusmriti, accusing him of using women’s rights as a “smokescreen” to target and discredit Hinduism. He challenged Gandhi to unequivocally support a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if he genuinely believed in gender equality.In a post on X, Sarma said Gandhi was “NO champion of women’s rights. He is simply a Hindu baiter, using the cause of women’s empowerment as a convenient smokescreen to target and discredit Hindu Dharma”.The Assam CM then posed a direct challenge to Gandhi: “If women’s equality truly comes before politics, will he unequivocally support a Uniform Civil Code that guarantees equal rights irrespective of religion? Or will his idea of “women’s rights” continue to begin and end with attacking Hinduism?”Speaking at his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ outreach programme in Pune on Saturday, Gandhi said India’s 70 crore women were the country’s “biggest asset” but were being systematically confined to identities defined by their relationships with men — as daughters, wives and mothers.He launched a sharp attack on what he called the “Manusmriti mindset”, telling young women that they belonged to themselves and not to their fathers, husbands or sons, and urging them to “smash patriarchy”.Sarma accused Gandhi of selectively targeting Hindu religious practices while remaining silent on what he described as patriarchal practices under Sharia.“Consider this: how many times has he spoken with the same outrage against patriarchal and medieval practices that persist under Sharia?” Sarma asked.He drew a distinction between the Manusmriti and Sharia, arguing that while Sharia forms part of Islamic jurisprudence, the Manusmriti has no comparable scriptural or universally binding status in Hinduism.“While Sharia is foundational to Islamic jurisprudence, Manusmriti has no comparable scriptural authority in Hindu Dharma. It is not even a universally binding code for Hindus,” Sarma wrote.“Yet ask yourself: how many times does Rahul Gandhi attack the Manusmriti, and how many times does he attack Sharia with the same fervour?” Sarma added.Sarma wrote that the enduring strength of Hinduism lies in its unique ability to evolve, reform and adapt over time. “Every Hindu must therefore ask: what is Rahul Gandhi’s real intent — championing women’s rights, or using them as a pretext to malign Hindu Dharma?” he said.He also attacked Congress’s record on issues concerning Muslim personal law, citing the party’s role in overturning the effect of Supreme Court’s Shah Bano judgment through legislation in 1986 and its opposition to the law criminalising instant triple talaq.Sarma further targeted Gandhi over the composition of the Karnataka cabinet, alleging that Gandhi had ensured that “not a single woman” found a place in the state cabinet to retain political power.
