Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in Uttarakhand's Haridwar today.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi mocked Prime Minster Narendra Modi today over his speeches in parliament and the subsequent interview to ANI, saying "he spent all his time on the Congress". "I am not afraid of Narendra Modi; his arrogance makes me laugh," he added, speaking at a rally in Uttarakhand, where elections begin on February 14.
PM Modi, in his speeches in parliament, only "gave his whole time to the Congress" but he did not answer my queries on China, Mr Gandhi said at Manglaur in Haridwar district.
"In his interview later in the day, he said, 'Rahul does not listen'. Do you know what it means? It means that the pressure of ED and CBI does not work on Rahul," Mr Gandhi said to whoops of approval from the crowd. "He (Rahul) doesn't listen to me. No matter how much pressure I put on him, he does not backtrack. He does not listen," he added.
"Why would I listen? Narendra Modi, though notes ban, through a faulty GST (Goods and Services tax), has ruined India's small traders, mid-sized businesses, the farmers and labourers," Mr Gandhi said, adding, "I am not afraid of Narendra Modi; his arrogance makes me laugh".
In his interview to news agency ANI last evening, PM Modi had ripped into Mr Gandhi, accusing him of being a "person who does not listen and does not sit in the House".
During a debate in parliament last week, the Congress leader had attacked the Central government for not issuing clarification on issues like the India-China border dispute and rising unemployment.
Asserting that detailed answers were given earlier on these question by the ministries concerned, PM Modi said he has also "given facts on every subject and spoken on every subject on the basis of facts".
"On some subjects, our external affairs ministry and defence ministry have given detailed answers and wherever it was necessary, I had also spoken. How do I reply to a person who does not listen, and does not sit in the House?" he added.
"We don't attack anyone, instead we believe in holding dialogue. At times, there are debates (vaad-vivaad), interruptions (toka-taki) (in Parliament), I welcome this and that is why I don't have any reason to be miffed (on these subjects)," he added.