Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 74 on Friday, hit back at the opposition for the row over his visit to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud's residence for Ganpati Puja.
"Even today, those who want to divide society have problems with Ganesh Utsav," Modi said, adding that "Congress and its ecosystem have problems with me taking part in Ganesh Puja."
The Prime Minister was addressing an event in Odisha, where had gone to launch the state government's financial assistance scheme for women, "Subhadra Yojana".
He also noted Ganesh Chaturthi/Ganesh Utsav is not just about faith for the country but, "it played important role in freedom movement".
Last week, a row had erupted after PM Modi visited the CJI's residence and performed Ganpati Puja with CJI Chandrachud and his wife Kalpana Das.
The visit triggered a trail of reaction from the Opposition as well as the common public, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut saying that after this visit, it is doubtful if there will be justice in the Sena vs Sena case as the Prime Minister is the other party in that matter.
Raut said that "if a custodian of the Constitution meets politicians, it can create doubt in the minds of people".
The Sena UBT leader said that the CJI should distance himself from their case as his relation with another political party is "openly visible". "Will CJI Chandrachud be able to give us justice in such a situation?" he asked.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Sanjay Singh had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using puja for political gains and said that the party had made its motives clear.
Netizens on social media also condemned the visit by the PM and said that "In a functioning democracy, Executive and Judiciary are supposed to maintain distance."
However, the BJP in its rebuttal had said that "the executive and judiciary praying before Gods revered by crores of devotees across India reflects the real strength of Indian secularism. Deal with it."
The party had hit back at the opposition and asked that how come the guts of those who encourage Prime Ministers' presence at Iftars are twisting and turning at seeing PM Modi perform Ganpati Puja at CJI Chandrachud's residence.
