DHARWAD: “No force in the world can harm the democratic tradition of India. India is not only the largest democracy but also the mother of democracy,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Sunday, targeting former AICC president leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently said that democracy is under attack in India.
Rahul, addressing a group of students at Cambridge University recently, had said Indian democracy is under threat and several opposition leaders, including himself, are being snooped on using spyware. He also said institutional frameworks that are required for democracy are getting constrained and the basic structure of democracy is under attack.
Without taking Rahu’s name, Modi said, “Those who are putting the country’s democracy in the dock and denigrating it on foreign soil are insulting the Jagajyothi Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka, the great tradition of land and 130 crore vigilant people of India.” He cautioned the people of Karnataka to be aware of such people.
Modi said he is fortunate to have inaugurated the statue of Basaveshwara in London. “Bhagwan Basaveshwara’s Anubhava Mantapa was a unique experience of democracy. But it is unfortunate that in the same London, questions were raised about India’s democracy,” he added.
Inaugurating the newly-built campus of IIT-Dharwad, Modi said, “The roots of Indian democracy are nourished by the centuries-old history of the country. No force in the world can harm the democratic traditions of India. Despite this fact, some people are continuously questioning Indian democracy.”
‘Chennai-B’luru highway ready by Dec-end’
The Chennai-Bengaluru-Surat expressway, which will connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari, will be completed by December-end. Already, 50% of the works have been finished, said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday, at the inauguration of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway. He said the Centre is spending Rs 70,000 crore for the construction of Outer Ring Road for Bengaluru which will be completed by March 2024.
PM opens B’luru-Mys highway
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the 118 km-long Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway project, which is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from three hours to 75 minutes, say officials.