Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of tapping his phone, claiming he possessed evidence that the Prime Minister was under the influence of “foreign powers” and challenging him to an open debate to reveal the truth before the nation.Holding up his mobile phone during an interactive session on Instagram, Rahul alleged that Modi was already aware of the evidence against him because his phone was being monitored.”The proof of all my allegations is in my phone, which is tapped by the Prime Minister,” Rahul said, displaying the device during the session.The Congress leader, who has repeatedly challenged Modi to a one-on-one debate, claimed such an exchange would expose who was actually acting against the country’s interests and who was under foreign influence.“The moment he (PM Modi) comes for an open debate, everybody will know who is being controlled by foreign powers, who is anti-national, since when, and many other details that I know and are on my phone,” Rahul said.However, neither the allegation of foreign influence nor the claim of phone tapping was backed by publicly available evidence during the interaction.Claiming that Modi had become increasingly cautious about targeting him personally, Rahul suggested the PM’s silence was deliberate.”Notice something. There is a little fear in his mind because he is no longer commenting about me. He is no longer attacking me. He is being very, very careful. There is a reason for it, guys,” Rahul said.The remarks come amid Rahul Gandhi’s continued calls for a public debate with the Prime Minister over allegations of foreign influence and other political issues. He has also publicly urged Union ministers close to Modi to persuade him to accept the challenge.During the same interaction, Rahul turned to the BJP’s criticism of his mother Sonia Gandhi’s recently released memoir, saying that the attacks were only boosting the book’s popularity.Responding to a question about why BJP leaders were discussing the memoir so frequently, Rahul claimed, “It is a great book. They are all reading it. They can’t resist reading it and then they have got to comment on it.”Rahul further claimed that several BJP leaders privately admired Sonia Gandhi but were unwilling to acknowledge it publicly.“All you bhakts, please, please, please keep commenting on her book, because the more you comment, the better it does,” he said, adding that continued criticism would only help the book gain a wider audience.