Rahul a failed student who hates the topper: Jaitley

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday targeted Rahul Gandhi for his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale issue, calling the Congress president a "failed student" who hates the "class-topper" and one who has "damaged" the institution of Parliament more than anyone else.

Accusing the Congress of running "several fake campaigns" that "failed to cut much ice", Jaitley said it was time to protect the country from "institution wreckers", as these "compulsive contrarians" were jumping from "one falsehood to another".

In a Facebook post soon after his return from New York where he had gone for treatment, Jaitley said, "history will record that Jawaharlal Nehru's great-grandson has singularly damaged India's Parliament as an institution more than anyone else."

"Attempts are made at 11 AM every morning by the Congress party to disrupt both Houses. The Rajya Sabha once known for the quality of its debates has become non-functional. If we analyse Rahul Gandhi’s two speeches on Rafale, they are based on a personal hatred for the Prime Minister emanating from envy. A failed student always hates the class topper," he said.

Jaitley also said the context of the speeches by Gandhi on Rafale points "more to college-level lumpenisation" in content. In this context, he praised BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab and RSP's N K Premachandran saying it has been left to these two MPs from the Opposition to "fill up the intellectual vacuum" that the Congress has created.

Referring to the latest expose on Rafale, he said when the Opposition's "falsehood collapsed", they published a "half document" but did not realise that the cost of producing half a document is the loss of credibility.

"Institutions are under pressure -- the charge comes from none others than those who have a history of having subverted institutions all their lives," he said.

On judiciary, Jaitley referred to the Opposition protests over verdicts on Judge Loya and Rafale among others. "In each of the cases, the facts stated were found to be false. Notwithstanding the judgements of the Court, many opposition leaders continue to still rely on the same falsehood. Adverse judgements have led to a campaign against the court," he said.

He said the impeachment motion moved by the Opposition on "unsustainable" grounds was "only an attempt to intimidate" the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra and "set an example for other judges -- you toe our line or we can create an embarrassing situation for you". Jaitley also rubbished the Opposition's campaign over Electronic Voting Machines as "farcical".

Jaitley said the Opposition criticises the government the maximum and simultaneously argue that the free speech is in danger.

"They shed crocodile tears for democracy and make every effort to convert the world’s largest democracy into a dynastic one...BJP leaders can't land, public meetings are being prevented and the Rath Yatra was disallowed. The Congress Party's stand on multiple issues is self-contradictory. It slaughters a cow before the cameras in Kerala, and invokes the National Security Act against the cow killers in Madhya Pradesh," he added.