Took refuge in lies: Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over his Rajya Sabha address

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, 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.

"Modi ji 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 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 Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress of insulting the President of India by resorting to disruptions in the Lok Sabha during the debate on her address. He also accused the main opposition party of insulting tribals, Dalits, and people from the northeast.

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.

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."

"You have insulted tribals, women, and the top post of India," he alleged.

"The incident that took place in the Lok Sabha is very painful. We can understand your frustration, but it was done in the temple of democracy. At that time, there was an MP from Assam in the chair, and papers were thrown at him. Is it not an insult to the northeast? Not an insult to the people of Assam?"

The prime minister was referring to Dilip Saikia, a BJP MP from Darrang-Udalguri in Assam, and Krishna Prasad Tenneti, a TDP MP from Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh. Both are members of the Panel of Chairpersons in the Lok Sabha.

"They did it yesterday as well; at that time, a son of a Dalit family from Andhra Pradesh was sitting in the Chair. They are doing their job, but you are insulting him because he comes from a Dalit family?" Modi posed.