PM Modi said, ‘These people are insulting Lord Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka.’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit out at Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, saying his remarks on democracy in India were an attack on Karnataka, India and God’s people. During the Karnataka tour, PM Modi said, ‘It is unfortunate that questions are being raised on Indian democracy from the land of London. In his address to the state, he said, “These people are insulting Lord Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka and the people of India. Karnataka should stay away from such people.” Assembly elections are due in the state later this year.
He said, “The whole world studies this democratic system. There are many other things for which we can say that India is not only the largest democracy but also the mother of democracy… There is no such force which can defeat Indian democracy. But despite that, some people are constantly trying to attack Indian democracy.
Mr Gandhi’s comments at his alma mater at the University of Cambridge – that Indian democracy is under attack and many politicians, including himself, are under watch – have become the latest flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP. The BJP has accused him of “defaming” the country abroad after repeated electoral defeats.
Mr Gandhi hit back, alleging that it is the Prime Minister who has maligned the country’s achievements since Independence.
“I remember the prime minister going abroad and announcing that 60 or 70 years of independence have been noted,” Gandhi told reporters at an event organized by the Indian Journalists’ Association last week.
He said, “I remember him saying that a decade has been lost… There is unlimited corruption in India. I remember he said this abroad… You must not have heard his speech where he said that freedom Since nothing has been done in India, every Indian has been insulted.” Parents, grandparents?” he said.
He had said, “I have never defamed my country. I am not interested in that. I will never do that. Of course, the BJP likes to twist what I am saying. It is fine.”