New Delhi, April 23: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on associating spirituality with cleaning of toilets and also took a jibe at him on frying of 'pakodas'.
"The Prime Minister sees spirituality in cleaning of toilets and making 'pakodas'. But, for Modi, becoming the Prime Minister only is spirituality," the Congress leader said at the nationwide 'Save the Constitution' campaign launched here.
Quoting Modi from his book "Karmyogi", Gandhi said: "This quote reflects his thinking and ideology."
The Congress leader further quoted Modi as saying: "What is the spirituality of a person working to clean toilets? Has anyone experienced the spirituality of a man of the Valmiki samaj, who has to remove human excreta and dirt everyday.
"I do not believe that he accepted the task merely to fill his belly. He would not have stayed for so long in that profession, and certainly not from generation to generation. Probably, sometime for happiness of God and society, he would have thought it is his responsibility to keep the environment clean and he accepted the work and continues to do the work for generations out of his spirituality."
Gandhi said: "This is the thinking of our Prime Minister -- 'a person from the Valmiki community who cleans the toilet doesn't do it to fill his stomach but for spirituality'. Every poor and every person has to understand -- this is our PM's thinking."
Gandhi said that the Dalits were angry with Modi because of this ideology.
"You may garland B.R. Ambedkar's statue or a picture, but with such thinking you can never respect him. And every Dalit understands this. They know that this person (Modi) has no place for Dalits, weaker sections, and women, in his heart," the Congress chief said.
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that atrocities on Dalits were increasing in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and elsewhere. "They are being crushed, lynched, and attacked."
He said: "There is violence against Dalits in Una (in Gujarat), and the man (Modi) who sees spirituality in cleaning of toilets doesn't speak even a word. When we raised our voice, after three days, he (Modi) came on stage and tears rolled down."
Prompted by a party worker on the issue of the BJP promise to create two crore jobs every year if the party came to power, Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the Prime Minister: "There is spirituality in making 'pakodas' also -- you should understand this. This is the truth in the country."
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Passing out parade held at IMA Dehradun, 491 young officers join Indian Army
Dehradun(PTI): After undergoing rigorous training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, 491 cadets participated in a grand Passing Out Parade on Saturday and will now be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army.
The spectacular parade, held at the historic Drill Square in front of the academy's Chatwood Building, was reviewed by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who served as the reviewing officer.
Along with 491 Indian cadets, 34 foreign cadets from 14 friendly countries also participated in the Autumn Term 2025 Passing Out Parade.
A total of 525 officer cadets from the 157th Regular Course, 46th Technical Entry Scheme, 140th Technical Graduate Course, 55th Special Commissioned Officers Course, and Territorial Army Online Entrance Exam 2023 Course participated in the Passing Out Parade.
The 'Sword of Honour' and gold medal for securing first place during training was awarded to ACA Nishkal Dwivedi, the silver medal to BUO Badal Yadav for second place, and the bronze medal to SUO Kamaljeet Singh for third place.
The silver medal for securing first place in the 'Technical Graduate Course' was awarded to Officer Cadet Jadhav Sujit Sampat, and the silver medal for first place in the 'Technical Entry Scheme-46' was awarded to WCC Abhinav Mehrotra.
The silver medal for the 'Special Commission Officer Course' was given to Officer Cadet Sunil Kumar Chhetri.
Among the foreign cadets, the first place in merit was secured by JUO Mohammad Safin Ashraf from Bangladesh. The Army Chief's Banner for overall best performance in the Autumn Term was awarded to Imphal Company.
As the parade concluded, helicopters showered flowers on the newly commissioned officers from the sky.
On this occasion, General Dwivedi congratulated the new officers in his address for successfully completing their training. He praised the young officers for their high level of discipline, leadership qualities, and endurance, and urged them to uphold the glorious traditions of the Indian Army and serve the nation with loyalty, commitment, and honour.
General Dwivedi said that joining the army marks the beginning of a lifelong duty and selfless service.
The parents and guardians of the newly commissioned officers were also present during the passing out parade.
