BJP today termed as "fabricated" Rahul Gandhi's charge that he was denied entry into a temple in Assam by RSS workers, alleging that the Congress vice president had become a "lying machine" and was talking about such non-issues to disrupt Parliament.
The party said also hit back at Gandhi after he blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for withdrawal of invitation to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for an event, saying he was making "petty and childish" charges and that the decision was taken by the organisers.
"Rahul Gandhi claims he was stopped by RSS from entering an Assam temple. Earlier somebody (Selja) claimed that she was stopped from entering a temple in Dwarka and she was exposed in Parliament. What Gandhi says is fabricated and a lie," Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told a press conference.
He claimed Chandy had himself written a letter, stating he will not be able to attend the event.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in Parliament that the decision to cancel the invitation to Chandy for tomorrow's event in Kerala was taken by the organisers and the government had nothing to do with it as it was a private function.
BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said it was a matter of "shame" for Gandhi if he was not permitted to enter a temple in a state run by a Congress government.
"His disinformation campaign against RSS is well known. It is difficult to accept his lies against RSS. He has become a lying machine. Does RSS run temples? Does he have any evidence that those protesting against him were RSS workers? If RSS was stopping him then how did he manage to go to the temple later in evening?" Sharma asked in a statement.
His campaign on such a fabricated charge was a part of Congress' strategy to disrupt Parliament, Sharma said.
Speaking about the Kerala event, he said the decision of organisers was a reflection on the "plummeting popularity" of Chandy due to his alleged involvement in corruption.
"Rahul Gandhi should not blame BJP and Modi for everything. He is only showing his immaturity and childishness with such comments," he said.
Rahul Gandhi today claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam, saying this was BJP's style of politics which was "unacceptable".
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As legislative work in Rajya Sabha remained stalled due to protests from Congress over a host of issues, Naqvi took a jibe at the opposition party, saying it felt pain for one reason but said something else, in a reference to the National Herald case.
"Indian National Congress is now Indian national confused party and it is making no sense. It is uttering only nonsense. It seems to have a research team which hands over some issue to its leaders in the morning to disrupt Parliament. These are all fabricated claims founded on lies," he said.
Referring to protests over the alleged chopping of limbs of two Dalit youths in Punjab, he said BJP strongly condemns it and demands stringent action against the accused and charged the Congress with not being serious about protecting Dalits.
The government has a bill that proposes to make law to deal with cases of atrocities against Dalits more stringent and they wanted Congress' support in its passage in the House but it refused, he said.
What Congress was doing was nothing but a reflection of its "feudal mentality" as it was punishing people for voting it out.
He said Rajya Sabha's business advisory committee had agreed to sit in the evening as well for the passage of many pending bill but Congress continued to disrupt.
Asked about talks between senior government ministers, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Congress for the passage of GST bill, he indicated that there was no breakthrough yet, saying they held talks every now and then but what was important was a positive result.
"We will request Congress and parties supporting it to reconsider their stand as these bill are not for a party or a government but for the country," Naqvi said.
