From the Congress accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “lying” about his tea-seller past and making up stories about his mother washing dishes in other people’s houses, to the BJP calling Rahul Gandhi a “spoilt child”, political discourse was reduced to name-calling and bickering between the two national parties on Monday.

Congressman Anand Sharma asserted that Modi’s “theatrics, emotional drama and boastful claims” diminish India’s standing in the world. Sharma said Modi had dragged the discourse to “gutter level”. He said the PM was “misleading” his audiences abroad and in India about his achievements and personal life, including his tea-seller past and the fact that his mother had to wash dishes to make ends meet.

‘Whither maternal love?’ “What you (Modi) have said raises questions about your credibility. His father had a canteen in Vadnagar and his uncle ran a canteen in Ahmedabad. The family was not rich but not as spectacularly poor as he makes it out to be… He has insulted his own mother by claiming that she washed dishes in other people’s homes. And what, if I may ask, are his responsibilities as a son towards a mother whom he claims struggled to bring him up?” asked Sharma.

“In his entire tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, he did not ask his mother to stay with him. She was not invited for his swearing-in ceremony. I ask him – instead of shedding tears for your mother on foreign soil in front of a sympathetic audience, do your duty as a son towards your mother,” said Sharma.

Pathetic, says BJP The BJP was quick to respond with equally sharp barbs. Party spokesperson MJ Akbar described Sharma’s accusations as “pathetic” and mounted a counter-offensive against the Congress leadership, describing Rahul Gandhi as an “inept spoilt child” of Indian politics.

“The Congress has chosen to get personal in an extremely, extremely appalling and pathetic manner. To comment on the moving moment when the PM recalled his mother… The PM is devoted to his mother. He touched her feet after the election victory,” said Akbar.

“This is quite in contrast to the Congress where a mother who has ruined the party is trying to ruin the nation by her utter devotion to her completely inept son. It is this doting behaviour which has made Rahul Gandhi the spoilt child of Indian politics,” Akbar commented.

While Akbar quoted Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and recently-appointed CEO of Google Sundar Pichai praising Modi, Anand Sharma said the PM’s “tendency to make false claims” is becoming something of a national embarrassment. Sharma said Modi’s “narcissism” is of great concern and that he “needs counselling”.

“He should stop making claims that are patently false. It is distressing to see a great country like ours being represented by a showman who is negating all the achievements of our people in the past. The question arises whether he has a healthy mindset or he needs counselling,” said Sharma.

‘Not $8 trillion, but 2’ Sharma said the PM had claimed in the US that he will increase India’s economy from “$8 trillion to $20 trillion”.

“We have no quarrel with that except that India’s economy stands at $2.5 trillion. It is not, as Modi claims, $8 trillion. He should check his facts and as PM, should not make these kind of claims to an international audience. He is not sitting in a drawing room or reporting to the RSS. He is talking to people who are well-informed. People are not idiots. They will realise sooner or later what the reality is,” said Sharma.

PM’s ‘fashion show’ The Congress leader went on to mock the PM’s sartorial flamboyance. “He is unique, changing costumes and strutting about in different clothes at different times on the same day. Have you seen any other world leader doing that? When you meet the US President Barack Obama, he is wearing the same clothes the whole day. No one has the time to indulge in the kind of fashion show our PM has made a habit of doing,” said Sharma.

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