Commenting on the 2G verdict for the first time, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said “the truth is out” and described the BJP as a party whose “architecture is based on lies.”
“Do I think 2G is a vindication? See the whole architecture of BJP is about lies. The whole structure is about lies...Everyone knows about 2G and the truth is out,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body.
The Congress chief once again attacked the Gujarat model and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the Rafale deal and the business dealings of Jay Shah, BJP president Amit Shah’s son.
But the CWC, presided over by Mr. Gandhi for the first time, focussed its deliberations on the 2G verdict.
The Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the BJP of conspiring with the former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai to “defame the country and Congress-led UPA with lies and falsehood.”
Quoting the 2G order where the judge observed that “everybody was going by the public perception created by rumour, gossip and speculation,” the Congress said it was the BJP that was responsible for creating this perception.
The Congress also claimed that BJP leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Mr. Jaitley as Opposition leaders wasted ₹750 crore of tax payers’ money by disrupting 500 hours of Parliament over a period of three years for what it now calls “self-manufactured” scam.
Discussing the issue of Prime Minister Modi accusing his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, of conspiracy at an election rally, the Congress said it displayed a “shoot and scoot” attitude.
“The Prime Minister gains in stature, not diminish if he apologises,” said Randeep Surjewala, chief spokesperson of the Congress while briefing the media on the main points of the Working Committee meet.
Appreciating Mr. Gandhi’s leadership in the Gujarat polls, party veterans asked him to effect energetic changes in the organisation and prepare a comprehensive strategy to take on the BJP in the next round of elections. “We will be taking up the struggles of the people by being among the people like we did in the period between 1999 and 2004. Over a dozen members spoke and they were unanimous in their views,” said Mr. Surjewala on the party’s plan to reconnect with the masses.
