The BJP on Sunday questioned Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s “silence” on the dismissal of Congress MP Bimol Akoijam from JNU over alleged sexual harassment of 11 students. The party also attacked the Congress MP over his claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a “full-scale attack” on Tamil language and culture.Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress’s top leadership of adopting double standards on the issue of respect for women.Demanding Akoijam’s suspension from the Congress, Swaraj asked the LoP and the Congress whether “smash the patriarchy” was “merely political rhetoric and a political slogan for them”.Read | At Chennai event, Rahul Gandhi says PM Narendra Modi silencing voices“For the Congress, feminism begins with a hashtag and ends at the threshold of accountability. What is surprising is that these allegations surfaced in May, yet until now, the Congress Party’s top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, has maintained silence. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have also not said anything on the matter,” she said.“…it appears that, somewhere, it (Congress) is accepting the conduct of its MP accused of sexual harassment and shielding him,” the New Delhi MP said, asking why the Congress has not initiated any inquiry in the matter or issued a show-cause notice to the MP concerned.“Rahul Gandhi should clarify whether the ‘chhatron Ki goonj’ of these 11 female students has reached him, or whether he has reduced their concerns to an excuse for frivolous comedy,” she said.Attacking Gandhi over his allegation that the Tamil language was under “assault due to the introduction of NEET”, during the Chatron ki Goonj event in Tamil Nadu, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said: “The reality is that the Tamil language has been accorded immense respect during PM Modi’s tenure; efforts have been made to elevate its various dimensions not just to the national level, but to the international stage.”Story continues below this adTrivedi said projects worth ₹13,000 crore have been undertaken in Chennai, including ₹4,900 crore for the Chennai Metro, ₹3,700 crore for National Highways, ₹7,750 crore for the Karaikal-Peralam line, and upgrades to cargo and cruise facilities at three ports, including Chennai’s VOC and Kamarajar ports.He said 41 Sagarmala projects identified in Tamil Nadu, three ports receiving new projects today, and an annual cargo target of 300 million tonnes set for the Chennai-Kamarajar-Cuddalore mega-port cluster by 2047 underlined PM Modi’s developmental agenda and respect for the state.The BJP MP also claimed that Gandhi made baseless allegations against the Prime Minister while attempting to plunge India into anarchy and divisiveness. The Congress leader is trying to create a divide between the North and South on the lines of language, he said.