National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi is 'lying', should give facts to prove his claims, says BJP

New Delhi: Stepping up attack on Congress, BJP on Saturday dubbed Rahul Gandhi as a "lying machine" and asked him to come out with facts in National Herald case instead of holding Parliament "hostage".

It also asked the Congress leadership to apologise to the nation "for trying to create hurdles in the country's progress and attacking the interests of 125 crore Indians". BJP threatened to "expose the Congress lie" and said it would come out with a country-wide programme after the current session of Parliament and the details are being worked out.

"Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are doing only negative politics for the last 18 months. Rahul Gandhi is proving to be a 'lying machine'. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have double standards as they are trying to defame Prime Minister through their chronic lies and by showing fake documents in National Herald case and stall Parliament," BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma alleged.

"We challenge Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to come out with facts before public and not do false propaganda to destroy the image of the Prime Minister and the government. They should apologise to the nation for speaking such lies," he told a press conference. He also asked Rahul to introspect as in a democracy no one is above the law.

"Many people get summons from courts and they reply to them in courts. Rahulji, are you above the country's courts? Is the Gandhi family above the country's courts? Is the Gandhi family above the country's Parliament? Stop pretending.

"In democracy, the king or prince or common man, the law is equal for all and no one is above it. If you have done something, face it. Don't hurt the interests of the country and its people," he said.

Sharma said Congress is not just "anti-development" but also "anti-poor" as it is holding Parliament "hostage" to hide its corruption due to the "arrogance" of a family.

"Due to a family's arrogance and its involvement in corruption, Congress is attacking the interests of 125 crore Indians by stalling Parliament and proving a hurdle in the country's path to progress. For corruption charges against you, you are holding Parliament hostage," he said.

Sharma accused Congress of being a "champion" in corruption and its cover-up and said it was now trying politicise the Herald case to create "pressure" on the judiciary. It is also trying to make false and baseless allegations to defame the Prime Minister and the government after having failed to convince the courts, he said.

The BJP leader said after summons were issued by a lower court against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, they moved the High Court that rejected their pleas.

"Their lawyers failed to convince the court that talked of 'criminal contempt' by them in the case and not misguide the court. Congress failed to convince the courts and is now unnecessarily trying to create pressure on the courts by stalling Parliament proceedings," he said.