New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress today over their recent black clothes protest against price rise, saying, "Those who believe in black magic will never be able to earn the trust of the people".
"Some people are resorting to black magic as they are immersed in despair and negativity. We saw on August 5 that there was an attempt to propagate black magic. These people think that by wearing black clothes, their period of despair will end," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"But, these people are unaware that no matter how much ever they do black magic and believe in superstitions, people will never trust them back," PM Modi added.
Union home minister Amit Shah had accused the Congress of appeasement politics over their protest, saying it was against the foundation ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Pointing out that August 5 was the anniversary of the foundation ceremony, he said the Congress, by holding the protest in black clothes, "is sending a subtle message that they are protesting against the foundation ceremony for Ram Janmabhoomi and is taking forward their policy of appeasement".
The Congress had planned the "Chalo Rashtrapati Bhavan" march far ahead of the event. The Delhi police, which withheld permission for the protest, had detained key leaders of the party including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Videos of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being physically dragged away by the police were widely circulated and set off vehement protests from opposition parties.
The Congress and other opposition parties have been continuously raising questions in parliament against price rise, the recent widening of the ambit of the Goods and Service Tax and unemployment.