'Clown prince' vs 'court jester': BJP-Congress spat gets uglier
New Delhi, Sep 20 : The war of words between the BJP and the Congress over the Rafale deal and bank NPAs got uglier on Thursday with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley calling Congress President a "clown prince" and in turn getting dubbed a "court jester" by the grand old party.
Countering Congress' relentless attack on the Narendra Modi government over the France-made jets and bad loans of banks, Jaitley took to the social media to accuse Gandhi of "concocting lies" on the twin issues and blamed him for "polluting" public discourse.
"His strategy is simple, concoct a lie and repeat it as many times as possible," said Jaitley dismissing as false Gandhi's claims of Prime Minister Modi waiving off Rs 250,000 crore of 15 industrialists.
"The world's largest democracy must seriously introspect whether public discourse should be allowed to be polluted by the falsehood of a ‘clown prince'," he wrote.
Jaitley said the amount referred to by Gandhi was lent by the banks prior to 2014 during the UPA regime, which then "kept rolling over the loans to conceal them (as) loans despite the default".
"The truth is that your government allowed the banks to be looted," alleged Jaitley.
The Congress lost no time in getting back at the Finance Minister.
"Jaitley is desperate in his attempt to stay relevant as a court jester to Modi Sultanate. Abuse, diversion and deception are the desperate tools of a ‘Lying -Jait-LIE'," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a statement.
The Congress demanded Jaitley to coherently answer politically-relevant issues instead of "hiding behind the cloak of expletives for the opposition".
It posed 10 questions to Jaitley on the "Rafale scam" that include as to why Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was "superseded" for Rs 30,000-crore contract to benefit cronies, why transfer of technology was "sacrificed" and why "national security was compromised" by reducing the number of aircraft from 126 to 36.
"Since your answers to the 10 questions are zero, cuss words are your only refuge," said the party which has been gunning for the Modi government over the Rafale deal which according to the party has caused "loss" to the exchequer and "endangered" national security.
Besides approaching Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi for a special and forensic audit and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal, the Congress has also sought the resignation of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the issue.
Alleging Modi government's "collusion with bank looters", the Congress also posed five questions on the issue of surging bank NPAs (non-performing assets).
Countering Jaitley assertions of NPAs being a UPA legacy, the Congress pointed to Finance Ministry's July 2018 reply in Parliament claiming "NPA's stood at Rs 2,51,054 crore when demitted power and they have increased to a whopping Rs 9,61,962 crore by March 2018. NPA's now stand at Rs 12,00,000 crore".
Wondering if Jaitley lied in his blogpost or in Parliament, the Congress dared him to publicly state the amount of loans given in the last 52 months of the Modi government along with details as to how much of those loans have become NPAs.
"How much worth of loans were ever-greened and restructured. How much worth of loans became defaults and wilful defaults. How many wilful defaulters escaped from India and with how much amount of money during 52 months of Modi government?" the party said.
"How many economic offenders, defaulters and looters did you bring back to India and jailed?" the party said yet again attacking Jaitley over his "meeting" with now fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
