War of words over ‘Goddess Durga’ continues in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi : Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury today launched a scathing attack on Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani for raking up ‘Goddess Durga’ during the discussion on the JNU row and accused her of trying to divide the nation by bringing up such issues in the Rajya Sabha.

“Who is a good Hindu? Will they give certificates? Why is all this being brought up here in the House to divide country?” Yechury asked.

He also urged Irani not to make unverified statements in the House.

“I beseech you, please do not pass unverified statements as evidence,” he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley later defended Irani and hit back at Yechury.

“Every word that the minister has spoken has been authenticated. If you have said something, authenticate that,” he said.

The HRD Minister earlier rejected the Opposition demands for an apology saying she’s a worshipper of the Hindu deity Durga and read aloud the documents in Parliament yesterday merely to prove a point.

“I myself am a practicing Hindu and a Durga worshipper. The documents I read (from) yesterday are official documents from the university, these are not documents of the government,” Irani said. (ANI)