New Delhi, May 6 (NDTV): Congress President Sonia Gandhi today sharply attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in Parliament and outside.

In a statement in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Gandhi criticized what she called the "deplorable lapse" in not filling key posts, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner, which has been vacant for eight months.

Stating that over 39,000 appeals under the RTI or Right to Information Act, remain pending, she also used the term "deplorable" to describe the "lack of interest" in punishing those responsible for delaying information.

"Protecting the wrongdoer cannot be any government's ethos," she said, adding, "The government must match its words of fighting corruption with action."

Mrs Gandhi directly targeted PM Modi, saying, "The PM in the election campaign made many fraudulent promises about transparency. And continues to do so. In a blatant U-turn , his government, through the absence of a Chief Information Commissioner, has made sure that the highest offices are not accountable under the RTI Act."

The Congress president made the statement after the Speaker denied her adjournment motion - her first since a new Lok Sabha was elected last year - but allowed her to speak.

She later told reporters: "I stand by every word I said and at this point the government has no answer. The government can scrap the RTI."

Her son Rahul Gandhi was with her. "This government wants to end all institutions. The PM wants to end every institution," he said.

This morning, Mrs Gandhi tore into PM Modi for criticizing previous governments during his visit to Canada last month.

"This outrageous remark on foreign soil belittles the dignity of the office he holds and is an embarrassment to the nation," Mrs Gandhi said at a weekly meeting of her party MPs, whom she has invited to dinner at her residence tonight.

"Such petty behavior does not define us."

PM Modi has been excoriated by the Congress and other opposition parties for saying at a public reception in Toronto that is mission was to turn "scam India to skill India" and it would "take time to clean up the mess of the past."