Agra: Referring to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's recent speech on the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that the prime minister got 'a woman' to defend him in Parliament, provoking a sharp retort from Narendra Modi.

Referring to Modi as a prime minister who claimed to have a broad chest, Gandhi said, he had "run away" from a debate in Parliament on the issue. The watchman with a 56-inch chest ran away and told a woman, Sitharaman Ji, defend me. I won't be able to defend myself, defend me," he said at the rally. For two and a half hours, the woman could not defend him. I had asked a straight question 'answer yes or no' but she couldn't answer," he said, using the Hindi word 'mahila' for a woman.