Slogan 'Congress Mukt Bharat' never aimed at one party: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the slogan 'Congress Mukt Bharat' was not directed at any one party or political thinking, but at the kind of culture the grand-old party has created in the country, post-independence.

After independence, the party has been identified with casteist, dynastic and corrupt statecraft, which has permeated in the conduct of other parties too and it is this culture which the country must get rid off, Prime Minister Modi said while giving an interview to English news channel Times Now.

"So when I say Congress-free India it's not related to election outcomes. I would want that even the Congress party on its own should free itself of the Congress culture. The Congress at the time of freedom struggle had a culture which inspired the youth to sacrifice their lives for the country. But the culture of the Congress that emerged after Independence has started appealing to other political parties," the prime minister said.

He added, "Casteism, dynasty, corruption and exploitation, treachery and keeping complete control over power - all this became a part of Indian political culture whose main pillar was the Congress."

The slogan, coined during the 2014 general elections, has gained traction recently in the public discourse following Bharatiya Janata Party's string of victories in the assembly polls.