TOI photo creates ripples, PM Modi comments & slams Congress

BENGALURU: The photograph of a Ganesha idol placed inside a police van, published by TOI, created ripples in the political circles, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi commenting on it.
The photograph, which was part of the report titled ‘Protest thwarted, but how did Ganesha end up in police van?' was taken in front of the Town Hall when protesters were demanding an NIA probe into communal clashes at Nagamangala during the Ganesha immersion procession.Some of the protesters were holding the Ganesha idol and shouting slogans when the cops, who rushed to the spot to stop the illegal protest, seized the idol and placed it inside a police van that was intended for rounding up the protesters.
Following the TOI photograph of the lonely Ganesha inside the police van, there were mixed reactions online and offline. Modi, while addressing a rally in Haryana's Kurukshetra, referred to the photograph and took potshots at Congress, stating: "Congress has only one agenda, appeasement politics. Unfortunately, today the situation in Karnataka is such that even Ganapati has been put behind bars. They even locked up Ganapati ji inside a police van. At a time when the whole of India is celebrating the Ganesh festival, the Congress govt is creating hurdles even in the puja of Ganesh ji, the slayer of obstacles."
In Mumbai, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde joined the issue, stating: "It is unfortunate that the Congress govt in Karnataka has not only stopped the celebration of Lord Ganapati but also seized the idol."
Countering BJP, Congress supporters maintained that the protesters had not obtained prior permission and that the idol was safeguarded by police, who later did the visarjan (immersion). Cops should be appreciated for handling the situation respectfully, they maintained.
Bappa in police van