‘In Karnataka they put Ganesh behind bars’: PM Modi compares Congress to Britishers after CJI home visit row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, slammed Opposition in India for criticising his visit to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud's house for Ganapati puja. PM Modi hit out at Congress and said, “The Congress and its ecosystem is frustrated because I took part in Ganesh Puja”.

During the Ganpati festival, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Chief Justice's residence, where they jointly performed an Aarti.

During a speech in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, following the inauguration of development projects, Prime Minister Modi stated, “Ganesh Utsav is not just a matter of belief for us.”

“It played an important role in the independence of our country... Dividing us in the name of castes was a weapon of the British. Lok Manya Tilak awakened the country by organising Ganesh Utsav publicly... Today, everyone participates in Ganesh Utsav without any discrimination...", he added.

“During the British time, people had a problem with Ganesh Utsav, the same is being witnessed now. Even today, those who want to divide society, have problems with Ganesh Utsav. The Congress and its ecosystem is frustrated because I took part in Ganesh Puja. In Karnataka, these people put Ganesh idol behind bars, and this hatred is dangerous for the country,” PM Modi said.

Backlash on Modi's CJI home visit

A controversy erupted hours after a video showing CJI Chandrachud and his wife, Kalpana Das, welcoming Modi at their house on September 11, was widely shared on social media.

Backing PM Modi, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that there's nothing unusual regarding PM Modi's visit, as earlier, Prime Ministers have hosted Iftar parties.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has raised concerns about protocol following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud’s residence during the Ganesh festival.

In an editorial for their publication ‘Saamana,’ the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction accused Modi of undermining one of the last bastions of Indian democracy, attributing the country's perceived decline to this action.

In response to the video of the visit, the Opposition has criticized the transparency and integrity of the judiciary, questioning whether such interactions compromise the judiciary’s code of conduct and impartiality.