Congress ruckus over PM Narendra Modi's comment on Sonia Gandhi in the AgustaWestland deal forces brief adjournment of Rajya Sabha. The PM was not present in the House, but the adjournment relates to his speech in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

In his first public comments since the AgustaWestland issue broke out, Narendra Modi on Friday dubbed the controversial deal a "chori" (theft) and indicated that the guilty, howsoever big, would not be spared.

Without naming the Congress, Modi also attacked the party which has launched a counter-attack on his government for dragging the name Sonia Gandhi, asking "if the court in Italy has said that people from the last government in India have eaten money, why then are you troubling us here?"

"Does anyone of your relatives live in Italy? Does any of my relatives live in Italy.... I have not seen Italy. I have not been to Italy. Nor have I met anyone in Italy. If Italians have accused them what should we do?" Modi said.

"Those involved in helicopter chori, should they be punished or not? Should legal action be taken against them or not. However big they are, should action be taken against them or not? I want to know from the people of Tamil Nadu," said Modi at an election rally here on Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border".