Winter session headed for a washout as Rahul ups the ante on 2G verdict

People questioning PM, BJP's model of lies, he said after chairing his first CWC meeting as Congress chief

As the logjam in Parliament continued with Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu making efforts to resolve the impasse, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday upped the ante against the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the 2G spectrum allocation case verdict.

Rahul Gandhi chaired his first Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting as the party chief, and indicated the Congress will not blink on the issue of demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “insulting” his predecessor Manmohan Singh, and also on the special CBI court verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

While the CWC issued a resolution to express its gratitude to the leadership provided by outgoing party chief Sonia Gandhi, a strongly worded statement issued at the end of the meeting said: “the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley and their stooge, Vinod Rai, created a ‘fallacious web of allegations of corruption’. The truth is, however, out in the open that BJP made a profession out of its conspiracy of lies and falsehoods to gain power.”

In his opening remarks at the CWC, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress might have lost Gujarat but has “dismantled” what should rather be called the “Modi model” and not ‘Gujarat model’. He said the 2G issue has turned out to be fake. He said the BJP’s “model” “is to come up with a lie, spread that lie, and just keep repeating that lie until people believe the lie.”

The Congress chief said the “good news” was that the people of the country were beginning to question BJP’s lies. He said people are questioning the PM on the economy and for insulting Manmohan Singh. Rahul Gandhi said there was “a positive sentiment towards the Congress Party”. “So, I think there is a lot of opportunity for us that we need to step into and take advantage of,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also said the CWC, the party’s highest decision making body, should compulsorily meet at least once in two months. Speaking to the media later, he said the PM hasn’t answered questions on the Rafale fighter jet deal and business dealing of BJP chief Amit Shah’s son. The Congress President is scheduled to visit Gujarat on Saturday, where he will visit the Somnath Temple, and later have meetings with party leaders.

In a related development, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has arrested two persons in connection with its money laundering probe in the Bikaner land scam case, which is allegedly linked to Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

In Parliament, the Rajya Sabha couldn’t transact any business after Congress protests, while the party walked out of the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu met Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma to explore ways to end the impasse, source said.