By Anand Singh
New Delhi, Aug 15
Congress on Friday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s independence day speech as “stale and troubling”, and slammed him for mentioning RSS in his speech saying it is a blatant breach of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic and it is a desperate attempt to appease his organisation in run up of his 75th birthday.
Congress General Secretary and Communication incharge Jairam Ramesh in a post on X, took a pot shot on Modi and said, “The Prime Minister’s speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort today was stale, hypocritical, insipid, and troubling.”
Ramesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP said that the same recycled slogans about Viksit Bharat, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” have been heard year after year with little to show in terms of measurable outcomes.
“The ‘Made-in-India’ semiconductor chip promise has now been made innumerable times — each time with fanfare, each time without delivery. It has in fact been made with a huge lie – which is Modi’s trademark – given that India’s first Semiconductor Complex was set up in Chandigarh in the early 1980s,” he said.
He also slammed the Prime Minister over the farmers issue and said, “The rhetoric on protecting farmers has become hollow and unbelievable given his history of attempting to bulldoze the three black farm laws and in the absence of a legal guarantee for MSP, the setting of MSP at 50 per cent over the comprehensive cost of cultivation, or a farm loan waiver.
“The lip-service to job-creation as a target has also become an empty ritual rather than a credible roadmap,” he said.
The Congress leader said that the Prime Minister “waxed eloquent on unity, inclusion, and democracy, at a time when he has presided over and engineered the collapse of our most foundational Constitutional institutions like the Election Commission”.
“He has yet to answer any of the most foundational questions raised by the Leader of Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) over the credibility of the election mechanism, and is going full throttle with a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar which has disenfranchised lakhs of voters,” he said, referring to the omission of over 65 lakh voters in Bihar through SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission.
He then also jibed Modi and said that his claims of empowering states ring hollow when the Centre continues to erode federalism, marginalise elected state government, and throttle or topple Opposition-run governments.
He asserted that Independence Day should be a moment for vision, candour, and inspiration.
“Instead, today’s address was a bland mix of self-congratulation and selective storytelling — devoid of any honest acknowledgment of the deep economic distress, the unemployment crisis, and the glaring and growing economic inequality in our society,” the Congress leader said.
Whike referring to the Prime Minister’s speech mentioning RSS, Ramesh said, “The most troubling element of the Prime Minister’s speech today was his name-checking of the RSS from the ramparts of the Red Fort — a blatant breach of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic. It is nothing but a desperate attempt to appease the organisation in the run-up to his 75th birthday next month.
“Decisively weakened after the events of June 4, 2024, he is now at their complete mercy and reliant on Mohan Bhagwat’s good offices for the extension of his tenure post-September. This politicisation of Independence Day for personal and organisational gain is deeply corrosive to our democratic ethos,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister was tired today and soon he will be retired.
The remarks from the Congress leader came after Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort for 97 minutes and highlighted that how the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) is one of the world’s biggest NGO.
In his speech, Modi said, “A hundred years ago, an organisation was born, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. One hundred years of service to the nation is a proud, golden chapter… In a way, RSS is the biggest NGO in the world.” He praised its dedication to “vyakti nirman” (character building) and “rashtriya nirman” (nation building).
Also read: SC Interim Order Courageous, A Beacon Of Hope: Congress’ Jairam On SIR
