BHOPAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party and accused it of colluding with foreign powers to gain power in the country. Addressing a rally here in Madhya Pradesh's capital, Modi said the Congress has failed to forge a credible alliance in the country and now looking for partners outside India.

"Will an outsider or a foreign nation decide who should be India's prime minister? The Congress has not only lost power but its mental balance too," Modi said.

Modi mocked Congress, saying the 125-year-old party has been reduced to such a condition that it is "begging" with small parties for alliances. He said even if the Congress gets allies, the coalition will not be successful.

The prime minister's remarks came a day after the BJP, which is under repeated attacks from the Opposition on the Rafale deal controversy, had alleged that the Congress and Pakistani leaders both want Modi removed from Indian politics.

On Monday, former interior minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik had Tweeted that Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister of India and that Modi is scared of Gandhi.

In response, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Pakistani leaders, including its Prime Minister Imran Khan and present and former ministers, have been campaigning for Gandhi.

"Some people want Gandhi to become a big leader in India. Who are they? They are Pakistani leaders, and also those who stand for corruption, dynasty and politics of appeasement," Patra had said.

The war of words between the Congress and the BJP has intensified after a French media report quoted former French president Francois Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal.