'Ghost of hatred' has entered Congress, party hates even Ganpati Puja, says PM Modi in Maharashtra

'When I went to the Ganesh Puja programme, the issue of appeasement of Congress became very clear. Congress started opposing Ganpati Puja,' Modi said referring to his recent visit to the official residence of Supreme Court chief justice Dhananjay Chandrachud.

Mumbai: Launching a scathing attack in the Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the “ghost of hatred” has entered the “most corrupt party” being controlled by a “corrupt family”.

Modi also accused that the Congress party is being run by “urban Naxals” and "the tukde-tukde gang”.

Modi also slammed Gandhi for his statement on reservations made by Gandhi in the  United States.

"Congress is the most ‘baiman’ and ‘bhrashta’ party…the most ‘bhrasha parivar’ is the shahi-parivar of the Congress,” Modi said addressing a public rally in Wardha in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, where the first anniversary celebrations of PM Vishwakarma Yojana was held. 

“The Congress we see today is not the same Congress with which great men like Mahatma Gandhi were once associated. The spirit of patriotism has died in today's Congress. The ghost of hatred has entered today's Congress,” he said. 

“Today, the language of the Congress people, their dialect has changed…going to foreign soil and talking about breaking the country, insulting Indian culture and faith has become their identity,” said Modi.

"Any party which has even a little respect for our faith and culture can never oppose Ganpati Puja. But today's Congress hates even Ganpati Puja. When I went to the Ganesh Puja programme, the issue of appeasement of Congress became very clear. Congress started opposing Ganpati Puja,” he said referring to his recent visit to the official residence of Supreme Court chief justice Dhananjay Chandrachud. 

“The whole country is outraged seeing this insult to Ganpati…he has seen idols of Lord Ganesh in police vans,” he said referring to reported incidents of Karnataka.

“The land of Maharashtra is a witness to how, during the freedom struggle under the leadership of Lokmanya Tilak, the Ganpati festival became a symbol of India's unity,

“I am surprised that even the Congress allies have kept mum on this issue. They too have been so influenced by the company of Congress that he no longer has the courage to oppose the insult of Ganpati,” he said.

The Prime Minister also accused the Congress party of "deliberately" not letting vulnerable groups grow and said that the NDA government eliminated this "anti-backward" thinking. "Congress and its allies deliberately did not let the SC, ST and OBC people move forward. We have eliminated this anti-Dalit and anti-backward thinking of Congress from the government system,” he said.