WATCH: Modi govt misquoting my remark to divert attention from main issues, says Rahul Gandhi

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday refused to apologise over his "rape in India" remark during an election rally in Jharkhand and hit out at the government saying this was "merely an excuse" for them (BJP government) to divert attention from the main issue.

Speaking to media in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, "All I said was that the Prime Minister keeps talking about 'Make in India', but when we open newspapers, all we read is about rapes across India. There are reports of rapes from every BJP-ruled state."

In Unnao, a BJP MLA raped a woman. The victim was hit in an allegedly ‘planned' accident but Modi ji didn’t say a word, there was no action against him, Rahul Gandhi said.

He rued the fact that today the entire country is engulfed in violence, In North-East there’s violence, there’s violence in Kashmir, there's violence against women. “We had one strength and that was our economy which has been destroyed completely,” he said adding that these valid issues should be discussed.

Responding to demands for an apology over his 'rape in India' remark, the Congress leader said, "There is no question of apologizing. This is merely an excuse for the government to divert attention from the main issue in front of us right now -- the citizenship law -- and nothing else."

He also hit out at the Prime Minister in a tweet and demanded his apology for burning the north-eastern states after the passage of controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 and for destroying India's economy.

Rahul Gandhi, who is also an MP from Kerala's Wayanad, said in a tweet, "Modi should apologise -- for burning the North-East. For destroying India's economy... and for this speech, a clip of which I'm attaching."

The Lok Sabha on Friday saw heated exchanges with the treasury benches angrily reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'rape in India" remark. All BJP members condemned the statement and sought his apology.

Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on PM Modi during a public rally in Jharkhand's Godda district on Thursday over crimes against women, saying the Prime Minister had launched 'Make in India' but nowadays it is 'Rape in India'.

You can watch the entire statement of Rahul Gandhi here:

With inputs from IANS