Rahul Gandhi dares Narendra Modi to jail him; Sonia, Manmohan attack govt

New Delhi Hitting out at allegations over his nationality Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrest him if he has done any wrong and accused him of using cronies to throw muck at him and his familyAddressing a convention of the Indian Youth Congress here to mark the 98th birth anniversary of late prime minister Indira Gandhi Rahul Gandhi launched a strong counterattack on allegations by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy over his nationality and alleged that the RSS and the BJP had been targeting his family including his slain grandmother father and his mother and party president Sonia GandhiSonia Gandhi also attacked the Modi government and accused it of pursuing communal and divisive politics and systematically working to dismantle the legacy of the CongressFormer prime minister Manmohan Singh said the economic policy had no sense of direction under the Modi governmentHe slammed the government for abolishing the Planning Commission saying it was positive dynamic instrument of steering the countrys economy despite its deficienciesRahul Gandhi said there was no truth in the allegations levelled against him and taunted Modi over his earlier 56inch chest remarkI want to say one thing Modiji is the prime minister of the country Different allegations are made against me but there is no truth in them Modiji you have got agencies Get investigations done If you get anything in six months put me in jailThe muck that you get thrown at me and for years at my family through your cronies Show your 56inch chest get agencies after me send me to jail if I have done any wrong he said to cheers from an enthusiastic gatheringHe accused both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP of throwing muck at him and his family and said he was not afraid of either the BJP nor its ideological mentorI will fight for the rights of the farmers for the labourers he said adding that he would continue to expose the governments liesBJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday claimed that Rahul Gandhi had declared himself a British citizen in the registration papers of a private company in LondonSwamy said Gandhi should be stripped of Indian citizenship and that he had written letters to Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in this regardRahul Gandhi cited instances from Indira Gandhis life including her role in bringing together Hindus and Muslims during Partition days and said the party had to follow in her footstepsOn one hand there are people from the RSS who pit one against the other and on the other hand is the Congress which connects people together he saidHe referred to the Youth Congresss tributes to Indira Gandhi through the slogan of Maa tujhe salaam Mother we salute youRahul Gandhi spoke of the RSS and the banned Student Islamic Movement of India SIMI in the same breath saying there were fanatics on both sides and they are giving a bad name to all of usApparently enthused by the Congress performance in Bihar assembly elections he said the BJP felt it would sweep the polls but the sweep happened on the other sideReaching out to the senior party leaders Rahul Gandhi said the Congress needs to match experience of elder leaders with the youths energy and his role was to facilitate thisSonia Gandhi in her speech made a stinging attack on the Modi government and said its ideology shunned pursuit of secularismToday when we see the ruling establishment pursuing communal and divisive politics and follow policies that favour the few and the powerful when we see their ideology that shuns secularism tolerance and inclusion when the spokespersons of its agenda make blatantly partisan appeals to obtain votes Indirajis values acquire even greater importance Sonia Gandhi saidSonia Gandhi also attacked the RSS saying the present government and its masters who exercise their control from behind the scenes are systematically working to dismantle the legacy of the Congress to rewrite our history to negate all that Nehru Indiraji and all our leaders have achievedShe said the Youth Congress is the first forum through which the leaders of the future come into the CongressReferring to electoral challenges faced by Indira Gandhi she said that with courage dedication and determination even the most difficult obstacles can be overcome