New Delhi: Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi for his "incompetent" barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP said Sunday it was ridiculous for an "incompetent" person like him to give a certificate of competence to others.
The party claimed that the Congress president had achieved everything in life due to his family not because of competence. In a scathing attack at Gandhi, BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani also accused him of "hurting" Parliament's and a woman minister's (Nirmala Sitharaman) dignity by "winking" in the Lok Sabha as the defence minister replied to the Rafale debate on Friday.
"We do not expect values from him but we do hope that he maintains the dignity of Parliament," Irani told a press conference.
She was responding to questions about Gandhi's claim in a tweet Sunday that Sitharaman had "lied" in her reply and also about his another tweet, alleging that Modi is an "incompetent man". Taking a dig at the Congress president, Irani said he has woken up after 48 hours and was so much hurt by the "truth" that he came up again with a "pack of lies".
"I believe that while the defence minister presented all facts before Parliament, the Congress president hurt Parliament's dignity and a woman minister's dignity with his wink," she said.
Responding to the Gandhi's incompetent barb, she said wryly, "The country has not fallen upon such bad days that a person who has achieved everything in his life not due to his competence but family, give certificates of competence... This is itself ridiculous that an incompetent person like Rahul Gandhi give a certificate of competence to anybody."
No opposition party accepts Gandhi's leadership, she said.
Rahul Gandhi had Saturday hit out at Modi over demonetisation, farm distress and job losses, alleging the PM was an "incompetent man who listens to nobody".
Citing some news reports, he Sunday targeted Sitharaman, saying in her eagerness to defend the PM's "Rafale lie", she lied to Parliament. Irani had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Gandhi in Amethi and lost. The BJP, it is understood, may field her again in 2019 from the Gandhi family's pocket borough.
The Union minister Sunday maintained that only the party leadership can take a decision in this regard. Irani also took a jibe at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor over his criticism of Modi, saying he has found that the only way by which he can make a headline is by talking about the prime minister.
He has written a book on the prime minister, and its sell will increase when he targets Modi, she said.
The BJP leader also spoke about the ED seeking a not-bailable warrant against a personal aide of Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra. She said Vadra's aide had not joined the ED's probe despite being summoned thrice.
Gandhi should ask his brother-in-law to tell his aide to join the probe, she said, raking up Vadra's links with defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari and his alleged ownership of a house in London. Irani described Vadra as the "national son-in-law of the Congress".
