Insult To President: PM On Congress Leader's Ram Temple Purification Remark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lashed out at Congress over remarks on the "purification" of the Ram Mandir by senior party leader Nana Patole.

Addressing a huge public meeting at Odisha's Bargarh Lok Sabha constituency, PM Modi said that the Congress leader's statement was an insult to President Droupadi Murmu and the whole tribal community.

He said that the BJP made a tribal daughter of Odisha the President of India but the Congress and its allies are repeatedly disrespecting her.

"President Droupadi Murmu recently visited Ram Mandir. She offered puja inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir. She sought the blessings of Ram Lalla for the well-being of the country. The next day, one of the Congress leaders said that Ram Mandir would be purified with Ganga water. Isn't this an insult to the country, mothers and sisters and the whole tribal society," PM Modi asked.

He also urged the people to "punish" Congress by making the party's candidates lose their deposits in every Lok Sabha and Assembly seat for disrespecting President Droupadi Murmu.

PM Modi also said Congress is trying to snatch away the rights of SC/ST or OBCs by backstabbing the Constitution. He termed himself as the "Chowkidar" of the rights of all the poor and deprived people of the country.

"Congress wants to snatch away the reservation rights of ST/SC and OBC and give it to its vote bank. No one has the power to backstab the Constitution when a tribal daughter is holding the highest constitutional position and your Prdahan Sevak who belongs to a backward caste, holds the Prime Minister's post. Modi won't allow anyone to snatch the rights of ST/SC and OBC," the PM thundered.

Referring to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Modi said that nowadays Congress's "Prince" is now talking about the Constitution but he tore it into pieces during a press meeting.

He stated that this is not only an insult to the Cabinet and Indian government but to the Constitution itself.

PM Modi further asserted that the Congress will get less number of seats than the age of its "Prince" Rahul Gandhi this time and will also lose the principal opposition party status in the Parliament.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)