Govt slams 'failed dynast'

The NDA-led government and the main Opposition Congress, on Tuesday, engaged in a slug-fest over Rahul Gandhi's speech in California, where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of damaging the economy with "reckless and dangerous" decisions, such as demonetization and "hastily-applied" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Gandhi is in the US on a two-week tour. Immediately after his speech, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani took exception to Gandhi breaking the tradition by indulging in criticism of the PM and the government on foreign soil. She said: "It is not new for Gandhi to attack the PM, but since his attacks were not working at home, he has gone abroad. He seems to have forgotten that the voter is here, in India."

Within an hour, Congress arranged a special briefing at its headquarters, attacking Irani. Senior leader and spokesperson Anand Sharma said it was the PM who had first broken the tradition of not speaking about domestic issues on foreign soil. "BJP's reaction to Rahul's speech once again betrays their spirit of intolerance. Modi has repeatedly said that before he took charge, nothing was done to let India gain recognition on the world stage," he said.

Irani further said the "failed dynast" chose to speak about his "failed political career" on foreign soil, after he failed to connect with the people of India. She pointed out that the country's three top constitutional posts – President, Vice-President, and Prime Minister – are all currently occupied by persons of "humble backgrounds".

Reacting to Gandhi's comments on terrorism in J&K, Irani said: "When it comes to J&K, what is important for Gandhi is the politics and not the interest of the nation." She also took on Gandhi for saying that arrogance had crept in his party. "To say that Congress became arrogant under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and hence lost the election is a big confession in itself," the minister said.

Echoing her sentiment, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said the Kashmir problem was due to the "decades of Congress misrule".

On the sidelines of a briefing on Cabinet decisions, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also slammed Rahul, stating that even though he comes from a distinguished political family, he has forgotten the practice of not speaking about internal matters in foreign countries.

"We used to go abroad at the height of corruption during the Manmohan Singh-led regime but never spoke like this. We do not need a certificate and measurement of our performance from Rahul Gandhi. It took him five years to recognise that they had become arrogant in 2012. That, too, he realised only after visiting California."