NEW DELHI: Attacking Rahul Gandhi over a range of issues including the Rafale deal controversy and the GST regime, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wondered if there's a "personality issue" with the Congress President where, in self delusion, he believes a lie to be true or is it a case of a "clown prince out-clowning himself".

"Repeat the false narrative a dozen times and convince yourself that falsehood is in fact is the truth. Thereafter, you can comfortably live in self-delusion. Or is it a case of mendacity. Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and tweets display repeated examples of this," Arun Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

On Rahul Gandhi's allegations of a private business house in India gaining from the Rafale deal, Arun Jaitley said: "Rafale aircraft and its weaponry is not being manufactured in India at all, neither by Dassault or by any other private company. All 36 aircrafts and their weapons in a fully flyable and usable form will arrive in India."

"After the supplies begin Dassault has to make purchases in India for 50% of the contract value. This is as per the UPA’s policy to promote make in India. If the total deal is for Rs. 58,000 Crore, 50% of that amounts to Rs. 29,000 Crore.

"These supplies to Dassault are to be made by over 120 offset suppliers and which the business house named is one of them. Dassault has said that only 3% of offset may come to that business house which is less than Rs. 1000 Crore," the finance minister said.

He also slammed Rahul Gandhi for building a "false narrative of the PM having waived the loan of his 15 friends".

"Loans were given during the UPA period. Not a single Rupee has been waived. The Promotors of the defaulting companies have been thrown out through the IBC, and banks are successfully recovering their dues. Through the process of NCLT banks are recovering their loans," Arun Jaitley said.

He also hit out at Rahul Gandhi on GST saying that the Congress chief is "unaware" of the fact that "India has witnessed the most successful implementation of the GST".

"On GST he mentions that it is flawed and needs to be changed. India has witnessed the most successful implementation of the GST. The country has become one market, all check-points have been abolished, inspectors have disappeared and like Income-tax, the returns are now filed online and most assessments will be online," the BJP leader wrote.

"All States, including Congress ruled States have approved the model and the rates. In the first 13 months, the Congress legacy of 31% tax (Excise + VAT + CST) has been reduced to 18% and 12% in relation to 334 commodities. This has also helped us to check inflation. He (Rahul Gandhi) seems to be unaware of this," Arun Jaitley said.

The finance minister also reteriated that he has never met PNB farud accused Nirav Modi as claimed by Rahul Gandhi.

"I do not recollect ever having even seen Nirav Modi in my life. The question of his meeting me in Parliament does not arise. If he came to Parliament, as Rahul Gandhi claims, then reception records would show that. Where have I admitted all this Mr.Gandhi? As a Member of Parliament, Vijay Mallya once chased me in the corridor of Parliament to discuss his case. I did not pay any heed to him and coldly told him to make his proposal to the bankers. This he says constitutes a meeting where he told me that he was escaping to London. Absolute lie," he said.

Taking on Rahul Gandhi for his statement on the footwear industry in India during an event, Arun Jaitley said: "Ill-informed as he is, India has become the second largest manufacturer of footwear in the world. Our exports in footwear are about Rs.20,000 crores each year. He just has to take a trip to Bahadurgarh on the outskirts of Delhi to realise the competitive nature of India’s footwear industry."

"How does he concoct this falsehood? At the Hindustan Times Summit, he referred to a meeting he had with me and attributed same statements to me. When asked I merely said that ‘I can’t answer hallucinations. I am in the distinguished company of President Macron’. Today I feel it is much more than hallucinations. Is it a personality issue where he lies a dozen times and then in self delusion believes it to be true or is it a case of a ‘Clown Prince’ out-clowning himself?" he said.