Making his maiden speech in Rajya Sabha, BJP President Amit Shah tore into the Congress for criticising the government and its key initiatives, including the Goods and Services Tax.
In a sharp rebuttal to Chidambaram's 'pakoda' jibe, Shah said it was "better to sell pakodas than to beg".
"Some people are saying things about selling pakodas. I also read P. Chidambaram's tweet. Yes, I agree that selling pakodas is better than being unemployed. Making and selling pakodas is not shameful, but equating it with begging is certainly shameful," Shah said.
"Today if a person is earning livelihood by selling pakodas, tomorrow his son would become a big industrialist. A tea vendor's son became the Prime Minister of this country," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a television interview just ahead of the Budget session had said that people earning Rs 200 a day selling pakoras can be considered employed.
While admitting that there is unemployment in the country, the BJP President blamed the "55 years long" Congress rule for the widespread problem ,in his over an hour-long speech.
"I accept there is unemployment in the country. It is a problem. But you (Congress) have been ruling the country for so many years. We have been in power for eight years," he said.
The BJP President said that the Narendra Modi government had inherited a "big crater" and most of the government's time and resources have gone into "filling that crater" that it inherited.
"It is pertinent to recall what were the circumstances in 2013. Even those guarding the borders of this country could not show their valour due to government's indecisiveness. There was complete policy paralysis," he said.
He also lashed out at the grand old party for its opposition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and for dubbing it as 'Gabbar Singh Tax'.
Noting that "Gabbar Singh Tax is named after the filmy dacoit", Shah asked "is this (GST) dacoity? How much do those who have named this as Gabbar Singh Tax understand? It is not dacoity but the revenues go to pay subsidies for various services of widows and the poor."
Shah was making a speech on Motion of Thanks on President's address in the Parliament.
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