Rahul quotes Ghalib to counter PM, says make fun of me but answer to nation

Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making fun of him and taking a pot-shot at him, the Congress vice president quoted Mirza Ghalib - "har ek baat pe kahte ho tum ki tu kya hai. Tumhi kaho ye andaz--eguftagu kya hai."

Gandhi, who was addressing a Jan Akrosh Rally in Bahraich, said "make fun of me as much as you want, but at least reply to my questions". "I have to quote Ghalib to reply to that: har ek baat pe kahte ho tum ki tu kya hai. Tumhi kaho ye andaz--eguftagu kya hai," said Gandhi.

"Make fun of me as much as you want, but answer the questions of the youth of the country. Everyday our farmers are committing suicide; we went to the PM with these problems, but he did not say even a word," he said.

Gandhi claimed that not a single rich person is standing in the queue, and only one percent of rich have black money. The illicit money is not with the people standing in queues, but stacked in real estate.

Gandhi accused Prime Minister Modi of aiding the loan defaulters in escaping the country by bringing forth the name of Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya, who both absconded due to indulgence in corrupt practices.

"How many black money holders have been put in jail by Modi? Not even one. He instead made (Lalit)Modi and (Vijay)Mallya run away," he added.

Gandhi also tweeted asking Prime Minister Modi to explain what was in those nine packets which were mentioned in the Income Tax Department's documents from 2012-2013.

Referring to Gandhi, Prime Minister Modi had said since 2009 no one knew what was in this packet and now at least we knew what was in it.

Gandhi returned the jibe on Twitter reiterating the corruption charges against Prime Minister Modi he had levelled during his speech at a rally in Gujarat yesterday.

Accusing the government of not allowing him to speak in Parliament, Gandhi had earlier said that "an earthquake will come" if he speaks.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi took potshots at Gandhi's assertion that payments through cards, online transfers etc. would face hurdles in the country due to low literacy levels.

"I hope he does not say that I had indulged in some sort of black magic to make illiterate those who knew how to read and write. He never thinks before he speaks and he may not have realised that he has admitted the failure of the long reign of his own party," the Prime Minister said. adding his detractors have been forced "to admit, even if unwittingly, their failures".