 "Rahul hits back at 'raincoat' barb, says PM Modi demeaned his own position")
Coming down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'raincoat' barb on Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi asserted that by making such a statement, the former has demeaned his position and himself more than anyone else.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul said, "When a Prime Minister reduces himself to ridiculing his predecessor-years his senior, he hurts the dignity of the parliament &the nation."
"He demeans his position and himself more than anyone else. Today's events were saddening and frankly; they were shameful," he added in a series of tweets.
Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day provoked a walkout in the Rajya Sabha with his scathing attack on his predecessor and veteran economist Manmohan Singh. Taking a dig at his squeaky clean record of 35 years of service as an economist, he accused the former prime minister of having a talent of 'bathing in raincoats', and getting away with the ugliest of scams.
"Manmohan Singh has played a significant role in the economic system of India. In the history of India, it is rare to find a man who has had a such a long relationship with the economy of India, 35 years of 70 years of independence.", Prime Minister said in reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in Rajya Sabha today.
He further added that in 35 years of service, so many scams surfaced, yet it marked no stain on Manmohan as an economist.
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"We leaders have so much to study as so much happened at the time, but there was not a single blot on him. This is a special skill Manmohan Singh excelled at and we should all learn this art of bathing in raincoat," he said.
The remark stirred an instant outrage, with leaders of Congress deciding to walk out amid the futile pleas of Speaker Hamid Ansari to maintain the decorum of the house.
Outside the parliament, Manmohan maintained his trademark calm and simply chose not to respond to questions over the Prime Minister's statement.
Meanwhile, the Congress has warned of boycotting the Prime Minister for the rest of the Budget Session (April 12th) until he apologises for his comment on Manmohan Singh.