BJP chief JP Nadda hit out at Congress's Rahul Gandhi over his "PM Cares" tweet (File)
BJP chief JP Nadda took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi on Monday evening after the Congress leader posted a screenshot of an article that said the Prime Minister's Office had turned down a RTI request relating to the PM CARES fund.
In a series of tweets Mr Nadda lashed out at Rahul Gandhi, describing him as "the prince of incompetence", calling him a "loser" and accusing him of "spreading fake news".
"This happens when the 'prince of incompetence' shares articles without even reading them. The RTI was filed to know details of other RTIs and this is maliciously spun by you as an attack on transparency. Well, it's natural given how your career is only based on spreading fake news," Mr Nadda tweeted.
The BJP leader also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to "massive support" for the PM CARES fund that was set up by the centre to help raise money with which to combat the Covid outbreak.
"The entire nation has full faith (in) the PM and his initiatives. This faith was yet again visible with the massive support for PM CARES. Being the loser you are, you can only crib and spread fake news while the entire nation has joined hands in the fight against COVID-19," Mr Nadda declared.
In the screenshot of the article shared by Mr Gandhi it was said that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO had turned down the RTI (Right To Information) request because it would "disproportionately divert resources of the office".
Along with the image Rahul Gandhi wrote: "PM Cares for Right To Improbity".
According to the article in the screenshot, the RTI had asked for the total number of requests received and disposed by the PMO since April, as well as the number of those that were related to the PM CARES Fund and the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
The article said the PMO responded only partially, refusing to provide information specific to the funds. It said the information sought "was not maintained in compiled form".
The PM Cares Fund was set up on March 28 with the stated primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency situation, such as the one now posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, and provide relief to the affected. The prime minister is the ex-officio chairman of the fund and the defence, home and finance ministers are ex-officio trustees.
The Congress and others, however, have questioned the legal validity of the fund and questioned the need for it, pointing to the similar PMNRF.
Concerns have also been raised over CSR (corporate social responsibility) benefits denied to contributions to state disaster relief funds, and the fact the fund is not under the audit of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Last month the centre also blocked the Public Accounts Committee, or PAC, one of the most important parliamentary panels, from reviewing the fund.
The PM Cares fund has also become a flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP over alleged contribution from Chinese military companies, setting up a back-and-forth between the two parties over Chinese funding.
In his tweets Mr Nadda criticised the opposition party's "dubious legacy", recalling allegations the Congress, during the Manmohan Singh administration, diverted money from the PMNRF into the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
"Your family's dubious legacy includes appropriating a permanent position in PMNRF and then diverting money from PMNRF into your family trusts. You and your mother also took money from the Chinese to hurt our national interest. Can anyone stoop lower?" he went on.
The Congress had rubbished these allegations, calling them a "diabolical" attempt at diverting focus from the China crisis.