The PM was speaking in Maharashtra’s Wardha.
Doubling down on his attack on Rahul Gandhi over the remarks made by him in the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the language used by Congress leaders on foreign land and their “anti-national agenda” shows that the party is being run by people from the ‘tukde tukde gang’ and ‘urban Naxals’.
Both terms have been used by the Prime Minister and other BJP leaders in the past to refer to people that, they claim, want to divide and break up India.
PM Modi also addressed the criticism he received for attending a Ganesh puja at the house of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud – without mentioning it specifically – and said the Congress has begun opposing Ganpati puja to further its policy of appeasement.
Speaking in Wardha in Maharashtra on Friday, the PM hit out at Mr Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, over his remarks on religious freedom in India and scrapping reservation during his recent visit to the US.
Without naming Mr Gandhi, the PM said in Hindi, “The spirit of patriotism has died in today’s Congress and the ghost of hatred has entered it. See the language used by people from the Congress, their anti-national agenda expressed on foreign land. (They are) talking about dividing and breaking up society and the country… insulting the culture and faith of India. This Congress is run by people from the ‘tukde tukde gang’ and ‘urban Naxals’… The royal family of the Congress is the most corrupt family in the country.”
PM Modi also attacked the Congress over the Opposition’s comments on him attending a puja at the house of the Chief Justice during Ganeshotsav and said, “People from every community and every strata of society come together during Ganeshotsav, which is why the Congress is irked by Ganpati puja. I went to a Ganesh puja event and the Congress’ ghost of appeasement reared its head.”
“The Congress started opposing Ganesh puja. It is doing anything for the sake of appeasement,” he added, repeating a claim that a Ganpati idol had been arrested in Karnataka.
Reservation Remarks
Some of Mr Gandhi’s comments in the US have been criticised by a battery of BJP leaders and the PM had also spoken about them for the first time on Monday, when he had said that “those filled with hate are defaming India… and acting against the interests of the country”. PM Modi had used the ‘tukde tukde’ phrase on Monday as well.
Answering a question on reservation, Mr Gandhi had said, “We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place and India is not a fair place.” He had later clarified this remark and said it was misrepresented, adding that the Congress wanted to take reservation beyond the cap of 50%.
The Congress leader had also spoken about religious freedom in India.
Asking a Sikh member of the audience his name, Mr Gandhi had said: “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India; or whether, he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a kada in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, is allowed to go to a gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about, and not just for him, but for all religions”.
