Rahul attacks Modi; Jaitley defends

​New Delhi: Calling him 'arhar Modi, arhar Modi", Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took swipes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha and tore into his election promise of bringing down prices.

But Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hit back at Rahul stating that the government had inherited double-digit inflation from the UPA government which was hit by scams and policy paralysis.

Rahul also needled Modi on his election slogan asking people to make him a "chowkhidar" (watchman) and not PM and said but under his nose there was "theft" of pulses and he was not speaking a word about it. In a speech that lasted just a little over 15 minutes, Gandhi asked the Prime Minister to give a date by which the prices of pulses will come down.

Arun Jaitley, who took the floor after Gandhi to make a brief intervention in the debate on the price situation in the country, said, "any form of bluster is not substitute for statistics. The government has taken steps that have led to lower inflation which would come down further with good monsoon.”

Rahul said "During elections, Modiji had said 'make me a chowkidar' (watchman). Now, there is theft of dal under the very nose of the chowkidar. But the chowkidar has not uttered a word. " Gandhi said.