New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday if he was "scared" of debating with him on corruption and suggested that they could go "open book" for it.

Gandhi has been repeatedly daring Modi to debate with him on issues of national security, especially the Rafale fighter jets deal, asserting that when it happens, the truth will be out in the open.

The BJP has scoffed at the idea and described the Congress chief as an ignorant politician.

"Dear PM, Scared of debating me on corruption? I can make it easier for you. Let's go open book, so you can prepare: 1. RAFALE+Anil Ambani, 2. Nirav Modi, 3. Amit Shah+Demonetisation," Gandhi tweeted with #Scared2Debate.

After releasing the Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls earlier this month, Gandhi had challenged the prime minister to debate with him on the issues of national security, corruption and foreign policy.

The Congress has also accused Modi of helping industrialist Anil Ambani make a profit of Rs 30,000 crore by favouring him as the offset partner in the Rafale deal.

The government has denied any wrongdoing in the fighter jets deal. Ambani has also rejected all allegations.

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Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.

Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.

As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.

The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.

Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.

A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.

The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.