NEW DELHI, Aug 7 - In an escalation of confrontation, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today dubbed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as an �expert in theatrics� after her emotional defence on Lalit Modi issue, drawing a sharp retort from BJP which said it�s easy to give �a byte� than to speak in Parliament.
Marking a renewed aggression by the Congress, which continued its protest against the suspension of 25 of its MPs from the Lok Sabha, its vice-president Rahul Gandhi went a step further, asking the External Affairs Minister to explain how much money her family got from Lalit Modi, the former IPL boss, to keep him out of jail.
BJP used the dynasty stick to hit back at Rahul over his charge that Swaraj�s family received money from Modi, saying people from �common families� have to earn their living but the Gandhi family may be an �exception�.
�Sushma Swaraj is doing drama, she is an expert in theatrics... I would have certainly done my best to help the lady (Lalit�s wife) but not by breaking the law,� she told reporters outside Parliament.
BJP fielded Union Minister Smriti Irani to defend Swaraj from the onslaught by the Congress top brass against her.
To a question on Sonia�s attack against Swaraj, Irani shot back asking if the Congress president wanted to say that Parliament had become a �theatre�. �Such a statement is disrespect to the people�s mandate... Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi, should not work to reduce Parliament�s respect,� she told reporters.
Taking a dig at Sonia and her party�s decision to stall Parliament, Irani said giving a byte for one-and-a-half minute may be easy but speaking in Parliament for over one-and-a-half hours without support of papers may be difficult. � PTI
