In a veiled attack on the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the ‘Lutyens’ Jamaat’ and the ‘Khan Market Gang’, questioning their silence on certain British-era laws which allowed police to arrest the groom and others if 10 people danced together at a wedding.

“I am surprised that the ‘Lutyens’ Jamaat’ and ‘Khan Market Gang’ have remained silent for so many years. I wonder why those who act as the ‘thekedaar’ of PILs and frequently approach courts weren’t worried about liberty back then,” PM Modi said at a media event.

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He pointed out that the British introduced the law 150 years ago, and it remained in place for 75 years after independence. “Even a wedding dance could lead to arrests. Our government abolished it,” the Prime Minister said.

“The British introduced a law—the Dramatic Performances Act—150 years ago… This Act remained in place even 75 years after independence. It meant if more than 10 people danced at a wedding, the police could arrest them along with the groom. Our government abolished that law. I have nothing to say to the government of that time and its leaders,” he said.

The PM said the same people would have “pulled out his hair” if he were the one to introduce such a law.

“Had Modi introduced such a law (Dramatic Performances Act), just imagine what would have happened. Even if trolls on social media had spread any such false information, ‘yeh log aag laga dete, Modi ke baal noch lete’ (they would have set fire, would have pulled out my hair). But it’s our government that abolished this colonial-era law,” he said.

The Prime Minister further said within a decade, the Union government abolished approximately 1,500 laws that had lost their relevance, many of which were from the British era.

Further, in his address at the conclave, PM Modi said there was even a law that jailed people for cutting bamboo because previous governments failed to recognise that bamboo is not a tree.

“… Earlier, people used to be jailed for cutting bamboo because we had this law in our country that used to consider bamboo as a tree, and our earlier governments failed to understand that bamboo is not a tree… It’s our government that changed the law,” Modi said.

“Bamboo is an essential part of the lives of tribal communities in the Northeast. Earlier, people were jailed for cutting bamboo because it was considered a tree, and tree-related laws applied to it. We abolished such colonial-era laws. Now, even processes like filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) are completed within minutes, and refunds are issued within days,” he added.