Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on rape were at the centre of furious protests in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the winter session on Friday with leaders of the ruling BJP protesting and demanding an apology from him.

Gandhi said in Jharkhand on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative is like 'rape in India', an apparent reference to rising incidents of rape in the country.

As Speaker Om Birla, who adjourned the house sine die, was reading out his remarks on the various issues taken up during the session, Treasury benches demanded an apology from Gandhi for his rape remarks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gandhi were present in the House.

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Tearing into Gandhi, union minister Smriti Irani said he has insulted the women and people of India and claimed his remarks are like inviting people to rape women.

The union minister lashed out at the Congress leader outside the House too, saying it was "disgusting" that he was attempting to score political points over rape.

The Congress party on its part has called the controversy an attempt by BJP to divert the country’s attention from the violent protests in the Northeast over the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

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Rahul Gandhi has instead demanded an apology from Narendra Modi, claiming that the Prime Minister had called Delhi a "rape capital" under the UPA government.

"As far as their (BJP's) demand for apologising, I am never going to apologise to them," he told reporters outside Parliament.

Gandhi also clarified his rape statement saying he has simply made a point that Modi has been talking about 'Made in India' but it has now become "rape in India" as incidents of rapes are being reported from across the country.

He said the main issue today is that "Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have burnt the entire North East and this is a tactic used to divert attention" by raising his rape remarks.

"Modi should apologise. For burning the North East. For destroying India's economy. For this speech, a clip of which I'm attaching," Gandhi tweeted.

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Senior BJP leader and defence minister Rajnath Singh also attacked Rahul Gandhi and said that such members don't have the moral right to be in the House.

Asserting that not only the House but the entire country has been hurt by the remark, Singh said, "Such members have no moral right to be a member of the Lok Sabha."

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published:Dec 13, 2019 2:12 PM IST