NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday fired a fresh salvo at the Congress after party leader Rahul Gandhi said that exercises like the National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) are a "tax" on the poor people of the country.

Addressing the media, Union minister Prakash Javadekar hit back at Rahul's comment saying that "tax is a culture of Congress party".

"If there was a category for the liar of the year, he (Rahul Gandhi) would be its recipient. His comments used to embarrass his family. His lies now embarrass his party and the entire country," Javadekar said.

"Today, Rahul said that NPR is a tax on the poor. NPR is a population register. The information provided by the people is listed in it. From where does tax feature in it? Tax is a culture of the Congress - Jayanti tax, Coal tax, 2G tax, Jija ji tax," Javadekar told reporters.

Earlier today, Rahul had slammed the ruling BJP government amid the ongoing debate on the Citizenship Act. He compared the newly introduced Act with demonetisation exercise and claimed that the law is designed to rob the poor and benefit the rich.

"Whether NPR or NRC, it is a tax on poor people of the country. You understand demonetisation. It was a tax on poor people. Go to banks and give your money but do not withdraw money from your account. Entire money went to the pocket of 15-20 rich people. This (NPR or NRC) is the same thing," Rahul said.

Javadekar accused the former Congress president of lying and alleged that with his opposition to CAA , he (Rahul) is destabilising the country.

"They (Congress) should stop lying. The country is not going to be misled by it (lies). The country has rejected you. Stop making false promises of loan waivers, which will never be fulfilled, he added," Javadekar added.

The Union minister asked the Congress leader to stop making "baseless" remarks and instead visit Kota in Rajasthan where 77 kids have died this month .

"There is a Congress government in Kota (Rajasthan). Rahul should go there and improve the condition of his government. He should stop giving these baseless statements," he said.

The NPR does not involve any monetary transaction and its data is used to identify the poor so that government welfare schemes could reach the targeted people. A similar exercise was undertaken in 2010 as well, he said.

Earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah had hit back at Rahul for his "tax remark".

Shah challenged Rahul to show him even one clause in the Citizenship Act that has provision to take away the citizenship of anyone and accused the Congress of spreading rumours.

"I challenge Rahul 'baba' to show even one clause in the Act that has provision to take away the citizenship of anyone," said Shah while addressing a public rally in Himachal Pradesh.

"The Congress and company are spreading rumours that the citizenship of the minorities will be taken away with the Citizenship Amendment Act ," he said.

Meanwhile, protests against the Citizenship Act continued in various parts of the country on Friday. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.



In Video: BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi, calls Congress leader 'liar of the year'