'Like British, Congress...': PM Modi fires back over criticism on Ganesh Puja with chief justice

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit back at the opposition, which criticised him for visiting CJI DY Chandrachud's residence for Ganesh Puja. The Prime Minister equated the opposition to the British, who he said also did not like Ganesh Puja.

"The British, who worked on the policy of 'Divide and Rule', were irked by the Ganesh Utsav. Today also, the people who are trying to divide and break the Indian society are irked by Ganesh Utsav," he said while speaking at an event in Bhubaneswar.  

PM Modi said that people who were hungry for power had an issue with Ganesh Pooja. "The people of Congress and its eco-system are agitated because I attended Ganpati Poojan. In Karnataka, where they are in power, they committed an even bigger sin. They put Lord Ganesh's idol behind bars. The whole country is disturbed because of those pictures. We cannot let these hateful elements move forward. We have a lot to achieve yet."

A huge row erupted after PM Modi visited the CJI's residence in Delhi for Ganpati Puja last week. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that after PM Modi's visit, people will have doubt whether his party would get justice in a case pending in the Supreme Court. "We think that people will have doubts if guardians of the Constitution meet political leaders," Raut said.

Senior lawyer Indira Jaising said the CJI had compromised the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. "Lost all confidence in the independence of the CJI. The SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association) must condemn this publicly displayed compromise of Independence of the CJI from the executive," she said in a post on X.

BJP's National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh, however, defended the visit, saying it was not socialising but a devoted Ganapathi Puja. "Started crying! Civility, cordiality, togetherness, co travellers in nation's journey are all an anathema to these left liberals. Also, it was not socialising but a devoted Ganapathi Pooja is very hard to digest. SCBA is not a moral compass. Take deep breath once," Santhosh said in a post on X.