PM Modi suffering from 'acute disease' called 'Rahul phobia': Congress

New Delhi : Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'motion of thanks' address in the Parliament, where he attacked the Congress, the grand old party on Friday said that former was suffering from an 'acute disease' called 'Rahul phobia'.

Asserting that the Prime Minister's speech was devoid of substance, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the Prime Minister had made a mockery of the democracy and the Parliament by attacking Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the party's legacy over 'petty' non-issues.

"Prime Minister Modi seems to be in the grip of something I can describe as Rahul phobia. This Rahul phobia is a very acute disease and it is now attaining the size of an epidemic as far as the BJP and the Prime Minister are concerned," Singhvi told at a press conference here.

"Merely because the Congress vice-president raises genuine public concerns in or out of Parliament, as many as three senior most ministers jumped in to deflect questions asked to Mr. Modi," he added.

He said that Prime Minister's 'petty minded jibes' during motion of thanks address were against the culture of 'Indian democracy'.

"This was a reply of motion of thanks to the honourable President, which under our Constitution commences each and every Budget session. In a response to a President's address, this kind of political petty fogging, petty minded jibes is neither the culture nor the occasion, sanctified and hallowed by over 70 years of Indian democracy," he said.

In a point-by-point rebuttal to the allegations levelled by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi against the policies formulated by the BJP-led NDA regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday criticised the former over a range of issues, including the Congress vice-president mocking the Make in India initiative.

In a veiled attack, the Prime Minister had said that some people who do not understand government policies choose to criticise them.