PM Narendra Modi Told Rahul Gandhi And Co: Should Always Meet Like This

New Delhi: Meeting Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders amid acrimony in Parliament over the notes ban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly said today: "We should always meet like this."

Two days after Mr Gandhi claimed that he has information on PM Modi's "personal corruption" that can "explode his balloon", the two sat facing each other in Mr Modi's office in Parliament  House.

As the meeting ended, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress's leader in the Lok Sabha, responded to the Prime Minister's comment saying: "Even if our hearts don't meet, we can at least cooperate and shake hands." Everyone laughed and chit-chatted for a few moments after that, say sources.

The Congress vice-president later said he had raised a demand for substantial loan waivers for farmers, citing the inputs he had gathered during his extensive tour of Uttar Pradesh, which will vote soon for its next government. "The PM just listened, he said nothing about waiving loans," Mr Gandhi told reporters.

But the Congress' one-on-one with the Prime Minister seems to have backfired just days after 15 opposition parties picked Mr Gandhi to speak on their behalf on the notes ban protest. Striking a blow to the opposition's unity, the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Nationalist Congress Party dropped out of a delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to record their protest over the impact of PM Modi's decision to ban 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

On Wednesday, Mr Gandhi told reporters at Parliament: "Read my lips... the PM is personally terrified of the information I have. It is personal corruption of the PM that we have detailed information."

This, he said, was why the government had rejected the opposition's demand for a debate in Parliament followed by a vote on its sudden cancellation of high-denomination notes, which took away 86 per cent of the cash in circulation and left millions waiting at banks and ATMs.

The BJP called his comments "the year's biggest joke."

Before meeting the Congress delegation, PM Modi addressed his party lawmakers and said: "For Congress, party is above the country but for BJP the country's interests are supreme."

He said while earlier, opposition parties would join hands against the government over scams, now the opposition is united against the government's steps to check black money and corruption.