Twitter in splits after PM Modi's 'bathing in raincoat' jibe at Dr Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday provoked a walk out in the Rajya Sabha with his scathing attack on his predecessor and veteran economist Dr. Manmohan Singh. Taking a dig at his squeaky clean record of 35 years of service as an economist, he accused the former prime minister of having a talent of ‘bathing in raincoats’, and getting away with the ugliest of scams.

‘Dr. Manmohan Singh has played a significant role in the economic system of India. In the history of India it is rare to find a man who has had a such a long relationship with the economy of India, 35 years of 70 years of independence.’, Prime Minister said in reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in Rajya Sabha today. 

He further added that in 35 years of service, so many scams surfaced, yet it marked no stain on Dr. Manmohan as an economist. ‘We leaders have so much to study as so much happened at the time, but there was not a single blot on him. This is a special skill Dr. Manmohan Singh excelled at and we should all learn this art of bathing in raincoat,’ he said. 

The remark stirred an instant outrage, with leaders of Congress deciding to walk out amid the futile pleas of Speaker Hamid Ansari to maintain the decorum of the house. Outside the parliament, Dr. Manmohan maintained his trademark calm and simply chose not to respond to questions over the Prime Minister's statement. ​

Modi on MMS was plain wrong. He just can't humiliate a gentleman like him. Never forget, the right to humiliate MMS remains only with RaGa.

— Yashwant Deshmukh (@YRDeshmukh) February 8, 2017

RAINCOAT all politicians wear some in bathroom some in Foriegn countries

— dr sunil goel nephro (@ribuge) February 8, 2017

you can't get wet if you bathe with a raincoat on pic.twitter.com/MBfLGu21tZ

— Pathikrit Sanyal (@BucketheadCase) February 8, 2017

Manmohan Singh caught bathing with raincoat on after Modi's speech in #RajyaSabha#JaahilPMModi pic.twitter.com/kNzjSlTkA7

— Gautam (@gautyou) February 8, 2017

Baal Manmohan Singh Spotted. pic.twitter.com/ED7aBwEDAH

— PhD in Bak*****!! (@Atheist_Krishna) February 8, 2017

Taking bath in a raincoat is still a thousand times better than having sex with a condom

— The Bad Doctor (@DOCTORATLARGE) February 8, 2017

"Aapka to kutta bhi nahi gaya" sounds more offensive than "Taking a bath with raincoat", go and ask 10 people on the street.

— Sandeep Kadian (@GappistanRadio) February 8, 2017

So says a man, who insulted the PM from his own party by tearing up an ordinance just to boost his image. https://t.co/50g8ZMyDwg

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 8, 2017

When a Prime Minister reduces himself to ridiculing his predecessor-years his senior,he hurts the dignity of the parliament &the nation

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 8, 2017

What about tearing the PM chaired Cabinet decision papers being torn apart & tossed up? https://t.co/EjDXrgrXyP

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 8, 2017

Calling Prime Minister Hitler, Mussolini, Gaddafi & using terms like 'kutta' during Parliamentary proceedings reflect mindset of Congress.

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 8, 2017