Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, attacked the Congress party in Parliament on Thursday over allegations of corruption. In her Lok Sabha response, FM Sitharaman singled out the Congress for criticism of the administration. She advised the leaders of Congress to "wash" their faces with Dettol.
Sitharaman cited the "oil bonds" issue and referred to the Congress-led UPA government's term as "trickery," adding that her administration is repaying the debt.
"Oil bonds are a swindle because the UPA could have reduced excise duty like we did to provide a subsidy to ease the burden, but they didn't do so. Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress member, was questioned by FM Sitharaman about why his party increased the VAT on diesel after winning the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.
The (Congress-led) Himachal administration should be questioned as to why it raised the VAT on diesel by 3 after winning the (Assembly) elections, she said.
Sitharaman named several opposition-ruled states that raised the VAT on fuel "This month, Punjab raised the VAT on gasoline and diesel. This month, the Keralan government also approved a social security levy of 2 rupees per litre of gasoline and diesel "She spoke.
The Finance Minister responded to the protests from the opposition MPs by saying that it was in the Congress' DNA to make accusations and stir up a commotion when the government addressed them.
"You were the one who raised the VAT (on fuel). Be careful what you say. Congress has a tradition of making accusations, making a scene, and staging a walkout when we respond to them. This is how they do it, "she explained.
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