New Delhi : The Congress party condemned the outrageous and blasphemous remarks by the Bharatiya Janata party National Spokesperson and party’s candidate from Puri parliamentary constituency, Sambit Patra, about Lord Jagannath that he was a ‘Modi-bhakt’.

The party demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must tender an apology to people for the hurt caused to their religious sentiments.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate rejected the apology tendered by Patra, saying it was just an eyewash done only after the Congress raised the matter.

She observed that this was a part of the propaganda plan of the BJP. She pointed out, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been describing himself as God’s Messenger with divine powers in various television interviews.

The Congress spokesperson said, it was not for the first time that the BJP leaders had made such outrageously blasphemous remarks. She quoted many past examples where the BJP leaders had described Modi as Vishnu’s Avtar’

She showed the pictures posted on BJP’s official media handle where Prime Minister Modi was shown to be holding the finger and leading of Lord Rama, who was made to look like a kid, and taking him to the temple. She said, Modi’s cutouts during the Pran Pratishta ceremony were made bigger than Lord Ram’s.

Ms Shrinate observed that this was the characteristic style of autocrats and dictators to describe themselves as Gods or God’s messengers. She said that Hitler also used to claim himself as God and so does North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The senior Congress leader observed that the sentiments of millions of Hindus who worship their Gods have been hurt by Sambit Patra’s remarks and the Prime Minister Modi must tender an apology.