The BJP on Wednesday slammed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for raking up Birla-Sahara diary allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming it is “desperate diversionary tactics” as the “family’s name” figures in the AgustaWestland deal. Going to the extent of claiming that the PM was as “pure” as the Ganga, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reminded Rahul that he himself was out on bail in the Rs5,000 crore National Herald case.
Countering Rahul’s allegations that Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups, Prasad described the allegations as “baseless” “false” and “shameful” saying the PM is as “pure as the Ganga”.
Addressing a Press conference soon after Rahul attacked Modi at a public rally in Mehsana in Gujarat, Prasad said the Congress leader was completely mistaken if he thought any “relief” could come to him from the Government in the chopper scam case due to his charges against Modi.
He said the AgustaWestland scam carries names of “the family”, making the Congress leaders a worried lot. “These are diversionary tactics by a frustrated leader. Rahul is on bail in the Rs5,000 crore National Herald case and that is why he is accusing our clean Prime Minister,” he said.
“The allegations levelled against the Prime Minister are baseless, false, shameful and mala fide, and they reflected Rahul’s frustration in leading his party to disastrous defeats in State after State,” he said at the BJP headquarters.
Prasad said Rahul, who is tipped to be president of the Congress, was leading his party to successive defeats including that in municipal elections. He said public has refused to take Rahul’s comments seriously as he does not think before and after making his statements.
“There is no expectation from Rahul Gandhi, who has demonstrated himself as the biggest partner of corruption during the ten years rule of the UPA. Why he did not utter a single word when crores of rupees were being looted during the Congress ruleIJ” asked Prasad.
He said even the Supreme Court had observed that there was no basis in the allegations against Modi. Prasad was referring to the Supreme Court rejecting a plea for a probe by a special investigation team against Modi on allegations that two companies paid Rs 65 crore to him ahead of the 2014 lok Sabha polls.
Party spokesperson GVl Narasimha Rao said Rahul was immature and was just indulging in bluff and bluster because people are not taking him seriously.