Politics
PM Modi Responds to Criticism: ‘Those Who Divide India’ After Ganpati Puja Visit to CJI’s Residence
PM Modi Responds to Criticism: ‘Those Who Divide India’ After Ganpati Puja Visit to CJI’s Residence
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into the Opposition on Tuesday over their politicization of his visit to the residence of Chief Justice of India-DY Chandrachud to attend the Ganpati Puja. He explained, “Whoever tries to divide this great country can never like the spirit of Ganesh Utsav”.
Modi said this while speaking at a public programme in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, after inaugurating a slew of development projects. “Ganesh Utsav is not just a matter of faith for us,” Modi said, adding that the festival played an important role in India’s freedom struggle, with Lokmanya Tilak using Ganesh Puja to mobilise people. “Even today, Ganesh Puja brings people of all communities together, he said.
The Prime Minister even drew a comparison between the opposition to Ganesh Utsav during British times with the present criticism, saying, “During the British rule, people had problems with Ganesh Utsav, and the same can be seen now.
Those who want to divide society are uneasy with Ganesh Utsav. Congress and its ecosystem are angry as I took part in the festival. In Karnataka, they did not stop at putting a Ganesh idol behind bars, and that sort of hatred is a threat to the country.”
This was after a viral video showed CJI Chandrachud and his wife, Kalpana Das, welcoming PM Modi to their home on September 11 for the Ganpati celebrations. In the wake of the controversy, the video went viral on social media.
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The opposition parties questioned this visit because it seemed judicial impropriety and lack of transparency. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed all such apprehensions, saying that it was only to participate in the festivities arranged on an auspicious day over Ganpati, a cult very akin to Indian culture.
