Bengaluru: In a veiled attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the UK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said raising questions about Indian democracy on foreign soil was an insult to the people of the country.

Speaking at an event in poll-bound Karnataka on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi, while not naming Rahul, said some people were putting the Indian democracy in the dock despite it being ingrained in the country’s political culture over centuries. PM Modi’s retort followed Rahul’s recent lecture at the prestigious Cambridge University where he claimed that the basic structure of the Indian democracy was under attack.

“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy — Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around — all are being constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” the Congress MP alleged.

At an event where he dedicated several development projects and the longest railway platform in the world in Karnataka’s Hubballi-Dharwad on Sunday, PM Modi said the people of the state need to keep an eye out for “such people”.

He said there was a multitude of factors making India not just the largest democracy but the mother of democracy and it was unfortunate that qhestions were raised on the same on foreign soil.

“There are numerous factors that make India not just the largest democracy in the world but also the mother of democracy. I was privileged to have inaugurated the statue of Bhagwan Basaveshwara in London. But it is unfortunate that questions were raised on India’s democracy in London. The roots of Indian democracy go deep and dates back centuries. No power in the world can sully or harm the tradition of Indian democracy. However, some people are continuing to put Indian democracy in the dock. Such people are insulting Bhagwan Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka, Indian tradition and the 130 crore Indian citizens. The people of Karnataka have to be eware of such people,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Rahul’s remarks earlier had drawn severe criticism from the BJP.

Press Trust of India