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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Class 12 girl student gang-raped inside moving car in Rajasthan's Bikaner
Jaipur (PTI): A Class 12 girl student was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped inside a moving car in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred on January 6 in the Napasar area, but a case was registered only on January 11 following a complaint by the girl's family, they said.
According to the complaint, the girl had left home for school on the morning of January 6. Two youngsters intercepted her and abducted in a car and drove away.
The accused allegedly drove around for several hours, threatening and raping the girl turn by turn inside the moving vehicle, they said in the complaint.
Later, when the car entered a neighbouring village, locals grew suspicious and stopped the vehicle.
After forcing the girl out of the car, the accused fled from the spot. Villagers informed the girl's family, who reached the spot and took her home, police said.
A case has been registered at Napasar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Circle Officer Gangashahar Himanshu Sharma told PTI.
He said that the girl is aged above 18 years while the age of the accused is not clear.
"No arrests have been made so far," he said, adding that the matter was under investigation.
