New Delhi : A defiant Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said truth can be expunged in the world of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but not in reality, hours after significant parts of his Lok Sabha speech were deleted by the chair.

“Whatever I had to say, I have said and that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want, but the truth will prevail,” Gandhi told reporters in Parliament complex. The Congress leader was responding to questions on certain remarks he made during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

 “Truth can be expunged in the world of Modi ji, but in reality truth cannot be expunged,” Gandhi said. In his first speech as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi had launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP, accusing the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines.

Gandhi’s remarks drew massive protests from the treasury benches and a rare intervention from the prime minister, who slammed the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.“This is an event where I can celebrate myself as well as my friends and make new friends, and reaffirm that I belong in this world,” Peterson told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tens of thousands of revelers packed sidewalks along Chicago’s parade, a scaled-back event from previous years. City officials shortened the North Side route and the number of floats this year from 199 to about 150 over safety and logistical concerns, including to better deploy police into evening hours as post-parade parties have become more disruptive in recent years.

Chicago’s parade, one of the largest in the U.S., routinely draws about 1 million people, according to the city. Sunday’s crowd estimates were not immediately available.  Parades also were held in Minneapolis and Seattle.

On top of concerns about protests, federal agencies had warned that foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters could target the parades and adjacent venues. Security was heavy at all of the events.