BJP on Friday dubbed Congress‘ criticism of the Narendra Modi government a “bundle of lies and a mountain of deception”.

Hitting back at Congress, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Opposition party was “marked by four Cs – cut, commission, corruption and Congress”.

Congress should know that Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, both former party presidents, were out on bail in the National Herald case, he said.

Prasad was responding to Congress’ nine questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues such as rising prices, unemployment and farmers’ income.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Prasad said: “The questions asked by Congress are a bundle of lies and a mountain of deception. These nine questions are not arising out of any criticism which is their right, but out of pathological hatred for Narendra Modi.”

Prasad asserted that the Indian economy has risen from the “fragile five” position to become the fifth largest in the world. On the issue of national security, he said India’s land was grabbed by the Chinese when Congress was in power while the country showed its strength in eastern Ladakh during clashes with the PLA.

The size of India’s economy was $1 trillion in 2014 when the BJP government took oath and it is now nearly $3.5 trillion, he said, adding that the country’s forex reserve is over ₹50 lakh crore while export has almost doubled to ₹36 lakh crore.Countering criticism on price rise, he said retail inflation is now at 4.7% while whole inflation was in the negative. He also noted that inflation in the US was 8.9%, in France 17.5% and in Germany 23.5%.

Prasad also accused AICC communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh of lowering the discourse. “They should rise above their hatred for Modi. Congress was badly defeated the last two times and will suffer a similar fate in 2024.”