Shinde hits back at Rahul Gandhi over phone tapping charge, says he has 'Modi phobia'

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has accused the Centre of phone tapping, heating up the political climate across the country. Leaders of the Congress and the INDIA bloc have targeted the government, while leaders on the ruling side have also begun responding to Gandhi's allegations.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has given his first reaction on the matter. Targeting Gandhi, Shinde said he is gripped by "Modi phobia" and is making such allegations for publicity.

Gandhi had on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of phone tapping. Shinde criticised him in a post on X. In it, Shinde wrote, "Rahul Gandhi is so gripped by 'Modi phobia' these days that he sees only Narendra Modiji, whether sitting or standing, waking or sleeping. The truth is that unless he takes the Prime Minister's name, he does not make news and cannot hold his place in the media discourse either."

Shinde went on, "To save his sinking boat and stay in the headlines, Rahul Gandhi is now making baseless, fabricated and childish allegations like 'phone tapping'. No substantive issue, no vision for development, not a single piece of evidence to back his claims! All he has to do is make hollow talk of having evidence in his pocket, shoot arrows in the air and cook up a new 'fake narrative' every day. This has now become his 'full-time' job."

Shinde also said, "On one side the country is touching new heights of progress under the Prime Minister, and on the other the Leader of the Opposition is making himself a laughing stock with such ridiculous statements. The saying 'shallow water makes the most noise' fits his case perfectly today." With this, he took a dig at Gandhi.

The political clash between Gandhi and ruling party leaders over phone tapping is once again in focus. Political circles are watching how the Centre responds to Gandhi's allegations and how the Congress answers Shinde's criticism.