As the Congress stepped up personal attack on him on the Rafale issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday accused the Congress of indulging in mud-slinging and said that the party found it easier than debating issues like development.
"Ever since I came into politics in 2001, you (Congress) have used all your strength to hurl abuses at me. There would not be a single abuse left in the dictionary now. However, the more mud you threw, the more the lotus bloomed," he said.
Modi also accused the Congress of looking for support outside the country, saying, "Even if they get allies, the coalition will not be successful. So, they (Congress) are looking for support from outside India...Now, will some countries decide who will become the prime minister in India?", in an obvious reference to a tweet by former Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik who had said that Rahul Gandhi will be next prime minister of India.
On his part, Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi targeted the prime minister, saying Modi had claimed he wanted to be the country's 'chowkidar' (watchman). "But he put Rs 30,000 crore in Ambani's pocket", he alleged and asserted that more facts on the Rafale deal will be out soon.
"This is the beginning," Gandhi told reporters on the last day of the two-day trip to his Lok Sabha constituency.
The Congress has been accusing the government of benefitting Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd from the Rafale deal.
The opposition party also said now one can understand why it did not constitute the Lokpal during its tenure.
While questioning the prime minister's silence on the Rafale deal, Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked him to bring at least "sachche din" as he failed to fulfil the promise of bringing "achche din".
He said if the government did not come out with truth that who benefitted by sidelining public-sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the matter would be decided in the "people's court".
"When we look at these undisputed facts on Rafale scam, we will know why Lokpal was never constituted. Had Lokpal been there, the truth would have come out," he told reporters.
Separately, the BJP intensified its counter-attack on the Congress over issue, alleging that bribe, including a flat in London, was given to Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Robert Vadra by a defence dealer.
At a press conference, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra gave the address of the London flat, details of the defence dealer's bank account through which money was allegedly paid to Vadra and asked Gandhi to respond to these charges.
"Vadra will certainly go to jail for allegedly helping a defence dealer in bagging contracts during the UPA's rule," Patra said, adding that the Modi government will act as per law and not with a "mindset of revenge".
Demanding that the prime minister should come out with the facts of the Rafale deal, Sibal, at a joint press conference with party leaders Priyanka Chaturvedi and Jaiveer Shergill, said they do not want to hear what the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Agriculture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat have to say on the deal.
"We only want to hear what the Prime Minister has to say," he asserted.
Accusing the Modi government of "compromising with the country's security, transparency and honesty", he said, "We are concerned about the security of the country and the country should buy 126 Rafale aircraft. How they are going to get them, as they cannot afford t buy them more? They have compromised on all fronts - security, transparency and honesty. We want to know why you cancelled the earlier deal and why left out HAL.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)