With the country hurtling towards Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi challenged him to a “debate on national security and Rafale”. He said PM Modi “will run away” from debate.

“Narendra Modi is a coward, he will run away from debate,” Gandhi said at the national convention of the AICC minority department in New Delhi on Thursday.

“Narendra Modi is a ‘darpok’ (coward) person. He will run away from debate on national security,” he said adding, “If someone stands up to him, Modi runs away.”