Modi forgot his marital vows, how will he keep vows to nation '

New Delhi, Apr 11: The Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday demanded that Bharatiya Janata Party 's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi explain why it took him 46 years to acknowledge the existence of a wife.

Reacting to news reports that Mr. Modi had, for the first time furnished details about his wife in his nomination papers for Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency, All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Ojha said the manner in which the Gujarat Chief Minister hid the existence of a spouse was reflective of his attitude towards women. While filing nominations for earlier elections, Mr. Modi had always left the column seeking details about his marital status blank.

Questioning the manner in which Mr. Modi sidelined his wife – who, as per a recent interview, never contacted him nor complained about how her marriage turned out – Ms. Ojha said: ``If the Gujarat Chief Minister could not keep his marital vows, how can he be trusted to keep the promises he makes to the nation. ' '

Further, she pointed out that Mr. Modi had, time and again, underscored his devotion to the nation on the premise that since he had no family, he was wedded to India. ``This has now been proved to be a blatant lie. ' '

The CPI(M) also criticised Mr. Modi for not acknowledging his wife for over four decades. Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat wondered: ``If Mr. Modi can conceal his marriage, then what else is he concealing? ' '

What about wife 's rights, asks National Commission for Women

National Commission for Women member Nirmala Samant, said it was very unfortunate that the BJP's prime ministerial nominee's wife was deprived of her right to property, maintenance and other privileges, and more so since Modi claims to champion the cause of the women of the country.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted, "Modi accepts his marital status. Can women of this country trust a man who stalks a woman, deprives his wife of her right? Vote against Modi."

Samant, in a statement, said, "Narendra Modi has disclosed this information, as there is a column in Election Commission's form where you have to disclose the assets details of your relatives. This is the first time he has disclosed the name of his wife as he needed to provide these details. It's very important as she has got justice after all these years. She is given respect and has been accepted as his wife. It's my personal opinion it should be investigated as to why the EC did not compel him to disclose this in earlier elections. There was no need to give him a special status."

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik said in Panaji, "Modi has to clarify why he filed a false affidavit in the last assembly election by not disclosing the name of his wife, and further, as to how and why he is not aware of the other relevant financial details of his wife."

Claiming that he has verified the form filled by Modi, Naik said the BJP leader has mentioned "Mahiti Nathi" (information not known) in front of the columns pertaining to PAN card, financial year for which the last income-tax return has been filed, and total income shown in the income-tax returns. Naik said the concerned returning officer was duty-bound to direct the candidate to give the details which he has said "not known", failing which nomination papers should be rejected.