Rahul Gandhi takes government head-on

Congress vice president on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government, saying it launched a "'Fair and Lovely Yojana' to convert black money into white money".

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said: "Nobody who has black money will be jailed under Modi's 'Fair and Lovely' scheme. All those who have black money can make it white under this scheme."

Gandhi was participating on the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President on his address to the joint sitting of parliament's two houses, marking the beginning of the budget session.

He hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "Modi ji had promised that he will put people with black money behind bars, now they have come up with way to save those people."

"I was shocked to see Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launching such scheme."

He said the prime minister failed to fulfil his poll promise of bringing the black money from foreign countries.

Gandhi also raked up the issue of suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula and said the prime minister neither called up his mother nor did he speak on the issue.

Gandhi slammed the prime minister for his silence over the violence done with students and media persons at a Delhi court.

"Why were you silent, Modi ji, when journalists, teachers and students were beaten," he said.

On the ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru University row, Gandhi said: "I had heard (JNUSU president) Kanhaiya's whole speech, not a word in his speech was anti-national."

He said the government could not "crush the JNU" or the "poor people of the country".