Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi launched an all-out attack on the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday singularly targeting Prime Minister and saying that a "fair and lovely" scheme had been brought to launder black money.


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He also took on the government over JNU row and Dalit student Rohith Vemula's suicide besides the Pakistan policy.


In acerbic remarks on Modi's style of functioning, the Congress VP, while participating in the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, accused him of not listening to anyone's opinion including that of his ministers and MPs.


 


 


"Nobody who has black money will be jailed under Modi's 'Fair and Lovely' scheme. All those who have black money can make it white under this scheme," Rahul said.


Recalling PM Modi's promise of putting people with black money behind bars, the Congress leader said the government had instead come up with a way to help such people.


He was referring to the one-time four-month compliance window announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley under which people with domestic black money can come clean by paying 45 percent tax and penalty and get immunity from prosecution.


 


 


Gandhi was sharply critical of the government over the turmoil in Delhi's JNU and maintained that student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who has been charged with sedition, had not uttered a single word against the law but was behind bars while the "real culprits" were roaming free.


Questioning PM Modi's silence over the JNU episode, Gandhi said that he had not uttered a single word when teachers and the media were attacked in the Patiala House court complex in the capital when Kumar was brought there for a hearing.


"Which religion teaches to assault teachers," he asked.


 


 


"When I salute the flag, I am not saluting the cloth. I am saluting the relationship the flag represents.When I protect flag I protect every single voice and I protect voices that are weakest. Respecting flag is respecting every opinion. Respecting the flag means respecting the opinion of every Indian. When I want to JNU, your ABVP workers showed me black flags," he further said.


Talking about the suicide of Dalit scholar in Hyderabad Rahul pointed out, "Modi ji did not call up Rohith Vemula's mother nor did he even speak on the issue."


The Congress leader again took on the PM and questioned, "Whose opinion does the PM listen to? Whose opinion does he respect, his ministers?"


 


 


"The country is not the PM, the PM is not the country," Rahul quipped.


"I felt proud that I still lived in a country where it's possible to be confronted by people who don't hold the same view as yours. You have been taught by your teachers in RSS, that there is only one truth in universe, your own and that nobody else’s opinion matters and that nobody else’s opinion matters," he maintained.


The Congress VP went talk on other topics and said, "Most important question, where is Naga accord now? It's gone with the wind. Bye bye accord," adding, "When 26/11 operations were on, our citizens and soldiers were dying, GOI begged the then Gujarat CM to not visit Mumbai, but he didn't listen. Pakistan directly attacked this country in Mumbai (26/11). Almost 200 people were murdered and butchered. And what does PM do? Without any thought or vision, the PM decided to go have tea with Pakistan PM. PM didn't consult the armed forces, he didn't consult the officials, I don't think he even discussed with Sushma ji."


The Congress VP also ridiculed PM Modi's ambitious 'Make in India' programme, saying the Prime Minister has "created a 'babbar sher' (Asiatic Lion)" in which "clock and wheels are seen moving" and questioned how many jobs have been created.


Hitting back, the ruling BJP said lessons on corruption should not be given by those who "looted" the country and reminded about scams like 2G and coal block allocation during the previous UPA tenure which had "tarnished" India's image among investors.


Pralhad Joshi, fielded by BJP, accused the UPA of misusing the power and compromising the national security by changing the affidavit in Ishrat Jahan case with a view to "torture Modi and Amit Shah," as per PTI.


He also mentioned the National Herald case involving top Congress leadership which currently is in courts.


Other senior BJP leaders also called Rahul a "lying machine" and raised questions about the "maturity" of the Congress vice president.


BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma while denouncing Gandhi for his attack in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day said it was "full of drama but lacked in content" and called him a "lying machine" and a "non-serious, part-time politician" whose speech was "devoid" of facts.


On the other hand, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Facebook to hit back at Rahul, saying the more he hears him, the more he wonders "how much does he know and when will he know".


Responding to Gandhi's charge that Modi hardly consulted senior ministers, Jaitley said he not only works hard and involves himself in the functioning of the various departments of the government but also inspires his team to work harder.


"The Prime Minister should be the natural leader of the party and the Government. In the NDA it is so. The UPA was quite different. The Prime Minister is to lead by example," the FM said.


Jaitley said all ministers including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and he himself were responsible for each important decision taken by their departments.


Meanwhile,  Rajnath Singh refuted Gandhi's claim that he was not informed before signing a peace pact with Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM, saying his statement was "completely false and baseless" and that he "misled" the Parliament.


"Rahul Gandhi's statement on Naga peace accord in Lok Sabha today is completely false and baseless. I had several rounds of consultations with the PM on Naga peace process. I strongly condemn Rahul Gandhi's attempt to mislead the House," Singh tweeted.


(With PTI inputs)