Mumbai, Sep 17 : The Congress extended warm greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 74th birthday, albeit with bouquets and brickbats, creating more than ripples in political circles, on Tuesday.

While Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a birthday greeting plus a homily to the PM, the AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal posted a tweet on X frowning at the purported misuse of religion for political purposes.

Apparently referring to the recent sojourn of the PM at the residence of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud for Ganeshotsav celebrations, Venugopal said that 'the difference between true bhakti (devotion) and misuse of religion for politics is not hidden from anyone'.

'Just when Maharashtra elections are around the corner, the non-biological PM decides to go with an elaborate camera crew, in full Maharashtrian attire for the Ganesh Puja. Not only that, this is to the CJI's house, in contravention of all principles of judicial separation,' said the AICC leader and MP from Alappuzha.

He questioned whether the PM did not think what message would be conveyed, and said that such proximity between the chiefs of the executive and the judiciary raises doubts 'about the PM's intentions'.

'The BJP-RSS' disregard for institutional integrity and constitutional values is well known, which raised further questions about why the PM chose to make this visit,' said Venugopal.

He urged the PM to stop misusing Lord Ganesha to deflect from the genuine questions raised about his impropriety, from various sections in the national polity.

The PM's 'aarti' before Lord Ganesha idol at the CJI's residence (September 10), had sparked a huge political furore in Maharashtra and rest of the country, even as PM Modi commented on it in his public rally in Odisha.

Speaking in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, the PM said that the Congress and its ecosystem were angry because he took part in the Ganesh Puja, pointing out that Ganeshotsav is not just a festival of faith in our country but also played a very important role in the freedom movement.

The PM said that even at that time, the British who followed the policy of divide-and-rule used to resent Ganeshotsav, and 'even today, the power-hungry people, who are busy dividing and breaking the society, are having problems with Ganesh Puja'.

On his party, Kharge drew the PM's attention to the brazen threat by a ruling Shiv Sena MLA, Sanjay Gaikwad of Maharashtra - who announced a bounty of Rs 11-lakh to anybody who could 'snip off' the tongue of Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha ' creating an uproar.

Citing other similar examples by BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, the Congress chief said that it was due to such 'hate-mongering forces' that the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, and former PMs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had to sacrifice their lives for the country.

'I request and expect you to please impose discipline and decorum on your leaders' Instruct them to behave properly. Strict legal action should be taken for such statements so that Indian politics can be prevented from becoming degenerate and nothing untoward happens,' demanded Kharge.

The Congress President expressed hope that the PM would take the necessary steps to ensure that such leaders immediately stop making violent statements as they have greatly disturbed the party workers all over the country.

Gaikwad's statements had drawn a massive furore not only from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) but also the ruling MahaYuti ally BJP, with the state party chief promptly distancing himself from the utterances.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com)

/IANS