Rahul takes dig at Modi, Irani retorts

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "silence" on the alleged spike in the turnover of a company owned by BJP chief Amit Shah's son Jay, which was countered by party leader Smriti Irani who accused him of insulting the court.

A tweet from an account run by Rahul Gandhi's office, without naming Prime Minister Modi, accused him of silencing critics on the Jay Shah issue.

"Mitron, Shah-Zade ke bare mein na bolunga, na bolne dunga (Friends, I will neither speak about Shah's son nor allow others to speak)," Gandhi tweeted.

Gandhi apparently punned on Modi's famous line "Na khaoonga, na khane doonga (Will not indulge in corruption nor allow others to indulge in it)".

The Congress leader attached a news report about "The Wire" being barred from writing on Jay Shah to protect his "right to live with dignity" along with his tweet.

In response, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani accused the Congress leader of being out on bail and insulting the court. She also said the Congress was set to lose the Gujarat assembly polls, scheduled for later this year.

"A person out on bail mocks the courts..." Irani tweeted.

"Lage raho Bhai Gujarat phir bhi haroge. Saal Mubarak (Keep it on brother, you will still lose Gujarat. Happy New Year)," she said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi were given bail in December 2015 in the National Herald case of cheating and misappropriation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders often describe Gandhi as "yuvraj" for his belonging to the first family of the Congress and being considered heir apparent to the post of party chief.

Gandhi has been hitting back since the controversy erupted over Jay Shah's business, referring to him as "Shah-Zada."

He had last week also alleged "state legal help" in Jay Shah's legal battle with the news portal that published the story.

The Congress leader has been relentlessly attacking the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah over the report that alleged Jay Shah's company's turnover increased 16,000 times in a year after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.

The Congress has sought an inquiry into the issue by sitting Supreme Court judges.

The BJP has rubbished the allegation, saying Jay Shah's business was perfectly legitimate and legal. The party has also rejected Congress allegations of crony capitalism.

--IANS

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