Budget session: PM afraid of truth, took refuge in lies, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, 5 February, saying he was "so afraid of the truth that he took refuge in lies".

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha sought to know why the prime minister had "panicked" so much by just a few questions.

"Modiji was so afraid of the truth, he took refuge in lies. However, he did what he felt was right," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

The Congress leader on Wednesday, 4 February, cited former Army chief M M Naravane's "unreleased" memoir to claim that PM Modi shed responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020 and passed the buck on to the general.

Gandhi had said he had been told that he could not quote from this "memoir" in the Lok Sabha. "The main line is what the PM said—'jo uchit samjho woh karo'( do what you feel right)," he said.

Gandhi's remarks on Thursday came after the Prime Minister accused the Congress of insulting the President of India by resorting to disruptions in the Lok Sabha during the debate on her address.

Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha, Modi accused the Congress of insulting the Constitution, tribals, Dalits, and people from the northeast.

Talking about disruptions in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister said, "Congress insulted the President. It's shameful... Yesterday in the Lok Sabha, a discussion could not be held on the President's address. It is an insult to the office of the President. Such people do not have the right to speak about the Constitution."

The Congress party also alleged that the Prime Minister's 97-minute Rajya Sabha reply resembled an election rally. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed, "His narcissism and his addiction to dramatic pronouncements were clearly visible throughout the speech."

Jairam Ramesh said that today, the Rajya Sabha witnessed another 97-minute speech from the Prime Minister that was like an election rally. "As always, this speech was full of abuses and attacks, distortion of facts, theatrics, gestures, and derogatory remarks, and included his usual blatant and shameless lies."

It is noteworthy that on the seventh day of the Budget session, the motion of thanks to the President's address was passed in Lok Sabha amid uproar, without a reply from the Prime Minister. In the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Opposition MPs raised slogans at the beginning of Modi's speech and then staged a walkout. There was also an uproar over the issue of preventing Rahul Gandhi from speaking in the Lok Sabha.

(With PTI inputs)