"Cooking mutton in Sawan, hurting sentiments of people": PM Modi slams opposition leaders

Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked the 'Mughal' mindset of INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Yadav and his son, Tejashwi Yadav for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and teasing them by cooking mutton during Sawan and eating fish during Navratri.
PM Modi said that these leaders are inspired by a 'Mughal' mindset and they enjoy hurting the sentiments of the people.
Prime Minister's remarks were about Rahul Gandhi's visit to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, where he cooked mutton at the latter's residence on September 2, 2023. The Wayanad MP had also shared a video in this regard on his YouTube channel.
Addressing an election rally in Udhampur, Prime Minister Modi said, "The people of Congress and INDI alliance do not care about the sentiments of the majority of the people of the country. They enjoy playing with the sentiments of the people. A person who has been sentenced by the court and who is on bail, they visit the house of such a criminal and enjoys cooking mutton in the month of Sawan and they make a video of it to tease the people of the country."
The Prime Minister further said that it is the right of an individual to eat vegetarian or non-vegetarian, however, the intentions of the opposition leaders are questionable.
"The law does not stop anyone from eating anything, and Modi will also not stop anyone but the intentions of these people are something else. When the Mughals attacked here, they were not satisfied until they demolished the temples. So just like the Mughals, they want to tease the people of the country by showing the video in the month of Sawan," he said.
The Prime Minister also targeted Tejashwi Yadav over his video in which he was eating a fish in a helicopter with former Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni. Tejashwi in the video described how they got only 10-15 minutes to have lunch amid hectic election campaigning. He also showed the food he was having, which included fish and roti.
"You are eating non-veg in Navratra, with which intentions are you showing the video? You are hurting the intentions of the people. And I know that after these remarks, they will come after me. But when lines are crossed, then it is my role to speak the truth in front of the people," he said.
However, Tejashwi Yadav took a jibe at the BJP and said that the video that was posted had a date of April 8, a day before Navarati started.
"I uploaded this video to test the IQ of the BJP and Godi media followers and I was proved right in my thinking. The tweet clearly mentioned "Date" but what do the Andhbhakts know?" Yadav said in a post on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday threw a challenge at Opposition parties, especially the Congress to bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. He alleged that for the sake of power, the opposition had built the wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
"For the sake of power, they had built a wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to your blessings, Modi demolished the wall of Article 370. I have also buried the debris of that wall in the ground. I challenge any political party in India, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370," the Prime minister said.
The Congress has fielded Choudhary Lal Singh from Udhampur. The Congress took Lal Singh back into its fold six years after he was forced to resign following his participation in a rally held in support of the Kathua rape accused, in which a child was raped. The Peoples Democratic Party, partner in the INDIA bloc, has extended their support to Lal Singh. Udhampur will vote in the first phase on April 19.
The BJP had won three out of six seats in Jammu and Kashmir in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The National Conference won the remaining three seats.