‘...only crime is she gave birth to Narendra Modi,’ Smriti Irani on Gujarat AAP chief's remarks

Lashing out at Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal over Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia's recent remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday said Kejriwal "falling to new lows is not surprising".

"With blessings of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leadership in Gujarat maliciously attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 100-year-old mother. That Kejriwal could fall to new lows is not surprising...Her only crime is she gave birth to Narendra Modi. Your leaders and workers seek to punish and abuse her," Irani told reporters here.

Earlier, the Union Minister slammed Kejriwal in a Twitter post over Gopal Italia's remarks."Arvind Kejriwal, gutter mouth Gopal Italia now abuses Hira Ba with your blessings. I prefer no outrage, I do not want to show how indignant Gujaratis are but know this you have been judged and your party shall be decimated electorally in Gujarat. Now the people will deliver justice," tweeted Irani.

Italia was detained by the Delhi Police after he was summoned by the National Commission of Women (NCW) on Thursday. The NCW chief summoned Italia over a controversial video, in which he purportedly used derogatory language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A video of Italia had gone viral in which he is purportedly heard asking the women not to visit the temples and 'kathas' (sermons by Hindu priests) as they are "hubs of exploitation". This comes days after he allegedly made a casteist remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in yet another viral video.

Amid political slugfest in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hit out at AAP over its state chief Gopal Italia's recent remarks which have triggered reactions from BJP.

BJP national general secretary CT Ravi said that AAP has an old habit of doing drama, however, the party would not succeed in Gujarat. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Italia over his remark.

"Calling the Prime Minister a lowly person is against the democratic rules of the country; it is an insult to the country. Be it any caste, or any religion, no person can be lowly," Patra had said at a press conference. "An OBC Prime Minister who comes from a backward class, who comes from a poor and ordinary family, repeatedly calling him lowly, what is this abuse? Does the Aam Aadmi Party want to call the backwards-class people low? Anyone who rises from an ordinary poor family and becomes the Prime Minister is not lowly in the democratic process. No, it is against democratic values," he had added.

"The Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal are the people who said that they have come to change the character of India. If the democratically elected influential and hardworking Prime Minister is called lowly, and he is calling the PM lowly in that video, not once, but somewhere it shows the mentality of the Aam Aadmi Party," he had stated.