After accusing Congress of looking at Indian icons through the lens of religion as opposed to BJP's view of them as Indian first, Indian PM Narendra Modi has said he had the privilege of touching the feet of Independence movement icon Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
Slamming his political rivals on Thursday while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the Indian president's address, Modi alleged there was a issue with the opposition's mindset, which saw some people as "Muslims of India" while for BJP everyone is Indian, reports NDTV.
"We are being reminded that the slogan of 'Quit India,' 'Jai Hind' was given by Muslims. Problem is that in the eyes of Congress these people are only a Muslim even after so many years. For us, they are Indians. Be it Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Abdul Hamid, or Abdul Kalam Azad, these all are Indians for us," Modi said in the Lok Sabha.
"I had the privilege of touching Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's feet when I was young," he said.
"Congress and parties like this will certainly realize their mistakes on the day when they start seeing India as India," he added.
Modi on Thursday hit out at opposition parties over their campaign against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and the economy.
Referring to Congress icon Jawaharlal Nehru, he said the former prime minister wanted to defend minorities in then West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
"Was he communal? Did he want to create a Hindu rashtra (state)? I want to ask the Congress," Modi said.
Congress replied saying Modi's address was one that was between "stand-up comedy" and "rank communalism," adding the Indian prime minister should apologize for "misleading" the country by quoting Nehru "out of context."
