Rahul Gandhi Seeks Open Debate with Modi on ‘Foreign Help’ Allegations

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing the opposition of taking foreign help to destabilise the country and challenged him to an open debate on the issue.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also accused Modi of occupying the prime minister's chair with "foreign help".

"Mr Modi, stop lying to this nation. You became PM because of foreign help. You remain PM because of foreign help.

"Your financial system is fully controlled and supported by foreigners. Foreign social media fully backs you," he alleged in a post on X.

"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 claimed.

Prime Minister Modi had alleged that obstructionist forces were trying to divide the country and social media was being used to spread rumours.

During his Gujarat visit on Saturday, Modi said, "When the country was seeking solutions to external challenges, some forces within the country were also creating instability by spreading lies and rumours. But the countrymen stood shoulder to shoulder with the nation."

Taking a swipe at the opposition, Modi said, "It is our misfortune that at this time in the country, the opposition has turned into an Avrodh Paksh rather than Virodh Paksh. 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.

He further accused the opposition of violating constitutional norms.

"These people are engaged in shredding the boundaries of the Constitution," said the PM.

In a veiled reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips, he said, "Due to the frustration of more than a decade, these people have now come out in the open. 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."