Rahul Gandhi is now trying to be new Kejriwal: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday took a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is now competing with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal just to be relevant in the media.

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli also took potshots at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for backing Gandhi. "Look at the jungle raj earlier in Lalu Yadav's regime and its return now. If he supports Rahul Gandhi then Rahul should think about it. Whether this is the kind of support he relishes because his politics has also undertaken a turn," Kohli said.

"He is now trying to be the new Kejriwal, any kind of allegation, nothing to do with evidence, no substantiation. Just make an allegation and be relevant in the media. His competition with Kejriwal is as who will occupy the top spot of this kind of politics. He is happy with Lalu Yadav's support on his issues then it is good for him," he said.

Another BJP leader Sambit Patra also mocked Gandhi, saying the latter is making desperate attempts to become the supreme power within the Congress Party. "One has to remember that the Supreme Court is supreme and Rahul Gandhi is smaller than that. Rahul Gandhi is maybe trying to become the supreme power within the Congress Party (and) even in that he has not succeeded," Patra said.

"The Supreme Court has categorically observed that the papers provided by him are not authentic. The people of this country are intelligent, they know the Supreme Court is to be respected and not Rahul Gandhi," he added.

Earlier in the day, the RJD chief backed Gandhi's assertion that corporates paid crores as bribes to Prime Minister Modi in 2013-14 and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the same.

Lalu said that Prime Minister Modi, who is now completely trapped, owes an explanation to the nation. "Rahul Gandhi has alleged Aditya Birla and Sahara Group had given Rs 40 crores to Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister is completely trapped and now he will have to give an explanation. If any BJP spokesperson comes up with justification on his behalf then that would be unfair," he added.

The RJD chief further stated that the Congress vice-president wouldn't have made such allegations against the Prime Minister without any proof. "Without proof, Rahul Gandhi won't say this...or any leader won't accuse the Prime Minister of this. It proves that the Prime Minister was involved in corruption. I demand a Supreme Court-monitored probe in this regard," he added.

Speaking in Gujarat's Mehsana on Wednesday, Gandhi alleged that in the records with the Income Tax, there were notings of Sahara officials' claims that they paid Prime Minister Modi nine times between October 2013 and February 2014 and that the total amount was Rs 40 crore.

He also alleged that according to documents with the IT department, the Birla Group too paid Rs 12 crore to the Prime Minister.

Seeking an independent inquiry, Gandhi said that he was raising the issue "on behalf of the country".