Unfazed by prime minister Narendra Modi’s attack on its ‘ecosystem’ for criticising his visit to the residence of Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud, the Congress party on Tuesday pointed to how ‘true bhakti’ was different from ‘misuse of religion.’
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal sought to link the former’s visit to the CJI’s home with the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, the home state of the Chief Justice.
“The difference between true bhakti and the misuse of religion in politics is not hidden from anyone,” PTI quoted Venugopal as saying.
“Just when Maharashtra elections are around the corner, the non-biological PM decides to go with an elaborate camera crew, in full Maharashtrian attire, for the Ganesh Puja. Not only that, this is to the CJI’s home, in contravention of all principles of judicial separation. Did the PM not think about what message goes across?” he asked.
Venugopal also demanded that the prime minister should ‘stop misusing’ Lord Ganesha to ‘deflect’ from the ‘genuine questions raised about your impropriety.’
Further, he attacked the ruling BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, over their ‘disregard’ for ‘institutional integrity’ and ‘constitutional values.’
“This disregard is well known and further raises questions on why the PM chose to make the visit,” the senior Congress member remarked.
Meanwhile, on a day when he turned 74, the prime minister called out the Congress at a rally in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar.
“The British followed divide and rule and used to hate Ganesh Utsav. Even today, there are power-hungry people following those policies. You must have seen that the people of Congress and its ecosystem are angry because I participated in Ganesh Puja,” he said.
