BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Congress and its "ecosystem" was angry with him for taking part in Ganesh Puja.

Addressing a rally in Bhubaneswar, PM Modi made the comment in an apparent reference to the criticism by the opposition parties for participating in Ganesh Puja rituals at the residence of CJI D Y Chandrachud.

"Ganesh Utsav is not just a festival of faith for our country. It played a very important role in the freedom movement," he said.

"Even at that time, the British who followed the policy of divide and rule used to hate Ganesh Utsav. Even today, the power-hungry people who are busy in dividing and breaking society are having problems with Ganesh Puja. You must have seen that the people of Congress and its ecosystem are angry because I participated in Ganesh Puja," he added.

Modi also said that Lord Ganesh was "put behind bars" in Karnataka by these people.