Bengaluru / New Delhi : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambit Patra on Thursday criticised Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his call for a debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying political leaders should engage in discussions in Parliament rather than on the streets.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Patra questioned Gandhi's knowledge of governance and accused him of lacking the data required for a debate with the Prime Minister.

"Rahul Gandhi yesterday wanted to have a debate with the Prime Minister. It's been 24 years. On one side the Prime Minister would be seated, and on the other side he would be seated. Rahul Gandhi carries no data about anything". 

"He has no knowledge about most of the processes going on in this country. But as far as spreading 'galata' (mess) is concerned, he is number one," Patra said.

Questioning where such political debates should take place, he said discussions between leaders belonged on the floor of Parliament, which he described as the "highest temple of democracy", rather than on the streets.

Patra also accused Gandhi of avoiding parliamentary debates, claiming that the Congress leader lacked the patience to remain in the House for more than five or six minutes.

"Rahul Gandhi does not have the patience to sit in the Parliament for more than 5-6 minutes at a stretch. A person who cannot sit in the Parliament for 5-6 minutes at a stretch will not want to have a debate in the Parliament. He would prefer a street brawl to a Parliament," he said.

Patra also targeted the INDIA bloc over its November 1 rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, questioning the turnout and asking Gandhi to resolve differences with his alliance partners.

He claimed that the opposition bloc had expected 10 lakh people to attend the rally but that the actual turnout was no more than 20,000.

Patra also questioned the Congress's relationship with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), citing Gandhi's criticism of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Punjab despite the two parties being part of the INDIA bloc.

He asked Gandhi to clarify whether the Congress and AAP were allies or political rivals, pointing to what he described as contradictory positions taken by the Congress leader in Delhi and Punjab.

The INDIA bloc organised the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan as part of its campaign against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).