Rejecting corruption charges against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "baseless, shameful, and mala fide", BJP today said he is "pure" as Ganga and Rahul Gandhi did so to divert attention from AgustaWestland scam probe in which names of his family members have cropped up.
Soon after Gandhi alleged that Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups, Union minister Ravi Shankar said the Supreme Court has observed that these are "no allegations", and hit back by raking up graft cases involving Gandhi family and the UPA government.
If Gandhi thinks that by levelling these false allegations he can affect the probe into AgustaWestland scam, then "let me tell him that the government is not going to do any such favour and the CBI will do its investigation with honesty and not come under any pressure," the Law Minister told a press conference.
People have rejected his leadership and do not deem Congress fit even to run municipalities, he said referring to BJP's win and the Congress' loss in local polls in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Chandigarh and added Gandhi was "defeated and frustrated" after electoral reverses.
"These are baseless, false, shameful and mala fide allegations. He is a defeated and frustrated person and we understand his travails. People do not consider his party fit to run even a municipality. He is leading his party to disastrous defeats and his leadership is not trusted.
"The defeated and frustrated Rahul Gandhi is levelling these baseless charges in anger. Names of Congress leaders and his family (members) have cropped up in AgustaWestland probe. It had come up in Italy too. To divert attention from this, he is levelling such false allegations... Narendra Modi is pure like Ganga," Prasad said.
Asked if BJP is considering about taking legal action against him, he said "we trust people of India more".
Accusing the Congress leader of being a "patron of corruption", he said Gandhi never spoke a word about a series of scams under the UPA government. People have rejected his claims over demonetisation as well, he said.
"You answer one question. You enjoyed more power than Manmohan Singh (then Prime Minister) but did you say anything? Not a word was spoken by Rahul Gandhi on a series of stinking corruption cases. You kept quiet," he said.
Prasad also raked up alleged land grab cases involving Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra to attack him.
Noting that the Congress vice president is on bail in the National Herald case of "fraud and cheating" of over Rs 5,000 crore, he said such an "accused" is levelling corruption allegations against a "clean and honest" Prime Minister, who has run an honest government since taking over.
"The whole history of the Congress party stinks with
corruption," he said, alleging it promoted looter of public money. The UPA government did corruption in deals involving land, space and sea, he said.
Levelling false charges are in Gandhi's nature and people will never trust him, Prasad said.
People have stopped giving him TRP and the media should also think how reasonable to give his baseless charges TRP, he said.
Noting that TMC had levelled similar allegations against Modi, BJP leaders said Gandhi's charge appeared to be a part of a coordinated attack.
Terming Gandhi's charges as damp squib, BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said he had claimed that there will be earthquake but it turned out to be a "whimper".
These allegations pertain to 2013 when Gandhi was "super prime minister" and Modi a chief minister, he said.
"The central agencies were under his government but nothing was found."
Party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said Gandhi was immature and was just indulging in bluff and bluster because people are not taking him seriously.
"People of India have stopped taking him seriously. Rahul Gandhi is just bluff and bluster. There is no substance in what he says. He is just showing his and his party's incompetence," he said.
