Elated by the 2G telecom scam verdict, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday stepped up his attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the structure of the ruling party at the Centre is an "architecture of lies". Rahul said the BJP is designed to spread canards — be it allegations of 2G, depositing of Rs 15 lakh in each Indian's bank account or for that matter country's defence matters pertaining to the Rafale deal.
"The whole architecture of BJP is about lies, the whole structure is about lies. Everyone knows about 2G, the truth has come out on front of you but why is the Prime Minister silent on issues of corruption," Rahul Gandhi said in the briefing the media soon after the conclusion of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting which he chaired first as the party president.
Without taking any questions, Rahul further said that the entire regime of the BJP seems to be based on lie. He said that from demonetisation, to Gabbar Singh Tax (GST), to the Rafale deal, everything is a tower of lies. He also said that the Prime Minister's silence on corruption is questionable and directly attacked BJP chief Amit Shah questioning the business model of Shah's son Jay who manifolded his income in just three months in many crores.
Rahul also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat Model development which the latter used during the Lok Sabha polls campaign. "You see the Modi model in Gujarat it was a clear lie, when we went to Gujarat the people said there is no model, they said what is going on is stealing of people's resources," Rahul said. Without naming the businessman, the party chief also asked why Rafale deal was changed to benefit one single business house.
Under his leadership, the party increased its number in the just concluded Gujarat assembly polls and which has also come as a morale booster for the party workers. Congress leaders have dubbed the Gujarat performance a "moral victory" for Congress. Rahul would be visiting Gujarat on Saturday and interact with the party workers from across the State and strategise the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. He is also scheduled to visit the Somnath Temple.
Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi too attended the meeting in which she was accorded a warm welcome. Keeping with the traditions, Sonia, arrived a little earlier before her son, Rahul, could chair the CWC meet.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior party leaders Motilal Vora, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Janardan Dwivedi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Karan Singh, Anand Sharma, Mohsina Kidwai, Ambika Soni, CP Joshi, Kamal Nath, BK Hariprasad and Oscar Fernandes also attend the CWC meet, along with party in-charges for various States.
About the CWC, sources said the constitution of new CWC was also deliberated. While former Defence Minister AK Antony, who has not been keeping well, is already a CWC member, Kerela Congress leaders Oomen Chandy and Shashi Tharoor could be the new entrants to Rahul's CWC.
The CWC resolution expressed gratitude to the outgoing Congress President Sonia Gandhi for her guidance and leadership. "Sonia Gandhi led the Congress party through challenging times and difficult situations to safeguard and uphold the Congress ideology and commitment to an inclusive and constitutional democracy. By the sheer dint of her firm resolve, unshakable faith and insurmountable hard work," said the CWC resolution.
CWC also praised the governance of Manmohan Singh as country's two-time Prime Minister who brought people-oriented policy like 'RTI', 'MGN, 'Right to Education', 'Right to Forest Produce', 'Right to Food Security', 'Right to Fair Compensation for Land'. It mentioned that the UPA government ensured 'transparency' and 'accountability' of the government to every Indian and will always be remembered as pioneering steps that changed the political landscape of India.