Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open debate over his allegation that opposition parties were taking foreign help to destabilise the country, accusing the prime minister himself of remaining in office with foreign support.
In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that Modi had become prime minister and continued in office because of foreign assistance.
“Mr Modi, stop lying to this nation. You became PM because of foreign help. You remain PM because of foreign help,” Gandhi said.
He further alleged that India's financial system was controlled and supported by foreign entities and that foreign social media platforms backed the prime minister.
“I challenge you to an open debate about this. Any stage, any time. Come if you have the guts. You won't dare, because you are terrified of what I know about you,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi's remarks came two days after Modi accused opposition parties of obstructing the country's development and alleged that certain forces were attempting to create instability by spreading lies and rumours.
Addressing an event during his visit to Gujarat on Saturday, the prime minister said that while the country was seeking solutions to external challenges, some forces within the country were attempting to destabilise it.
Taking a swipe at the opposition, Modi said it had turned into an “Avrodh Paksh” (obstructionist bloc) instead of a “Virodh Paksh” (opposition bloc).
“In their frustration, these people are standing as obstacles in the way of the country's development. This is not opposition; this is obstruction,” he said.
Modi also accused opposition parties of violating constitutional norms, saying they were “engaged in shredding the boundaries of the Constitution”.
In an apparent reference to Gandhi's foreign visits, the prime minister questioned whom opposition leaders were meeting abroad and whether anti-India forces were supporting them.
“Who is secretly meeting whom abroad? Whom are the anti-India forces supporting? Who is speaking the language of India's enemies? We will have to recognise all these patterns,” Modi said.
(With inputs from PTI)