Modi’s swipe at PM

• Compares his achievements with those of the UPA Govt
• What has the Congress done for this country?
• He also did not spare Sonia for corruption
• Praises President for the strong message he sent out to Pak
• Advani says this is not the time to criticise one another

Anita Saluja

New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in a no-holds-barred criticism against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chose the Independence Day to attack him on all fronts, including security, corruption, slowdown in economy and the lack of vision to take the country forward. Modi’s criticism against the Prime Minister, barely a couple of hours after he spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort, is being seen as unprecedented in the history, as never before a prime ministerial candidate has lambasted at the incumbent Prime Minister in this fashion. Modi’s speech was even disapproved by his own party patriarch L K Advani, who has never failed to term Manmohan Singh as the “weakest” Prime Minister. “Today is the Independence Day. Without criticising one another, people should be aware on this day that India has unlimited possibilities,” stated Advani. Modi, who is in a hurry to be declared as BJP prime ministerial candidate, challenged Manmohan Singh to have a debate with him.

Pitting himself against the Prime Minister, Modi wanted to compare his achievements in Gujarat with the overall success of the Prime Minister during the UPA tenure. Modi wondered how the Prime Minister, in his speech, was talking about “long distance to travel,” despite being in office for nine long years and doing nothing, especially when all the electronic channels were stating that his was his last Independence Day speech.

Lambasting the Prime Minister for only referring to the contribution made by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, Narendra Modi wanted to know why he did not mention the names of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sardar Patel. “Aap ek parivar ki bhakti mein itna doob gaaye hain, ki aap ko desh ke itne bade jansamooh ko pehchane main dikkat ho rahi hai (You are so immersed in your devotion to one family that you find it difficult to understand even the people of this nation),” he stated.

He said the achievements boasted by the Prime Minister during his tenure were the same as what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had claimed 60 years ago. “What has the Congress done for this country?” he wanted to know. He said that though the country had attained Independence true independence was yet to be achieved. “We have to change our thought to gain true independence,” he remarked.

Lauding President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the nation on the eve of the Independence Day, where he expressed his concern over rising corruption and was aggressive in sending out a tough message to Pakistan over the rising incidents of violations across the LoC, the Gujarat Chief Minister said that none of the issues were touched by Manmohan Singh in his speech. He said that at least the Prime Minister should have raised the morale of the Armed Forces. The Pakistan Army comes in and kills Indian soldiers. The limit of tolerance is worrying. He wondered why the Prime Minister did not raise the issue of corruption in his speech.

Later in the evening, Modi addressed the BSF Jawans and said the right to retaliate should be available to them. When Pakistan opens fire, the jawans could not turn to Delhi for guidance, he remarked. Not forgetting to hit out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi during his speech, Modi said that the issue of corruption now resembles TV serials, first “mama-bhanja” and now “saas-bahu-damaad” episode was on.

On his part, Modi promised that he would rid India of the slavish mentality, corruption and rebuild the trust of the people. India needs independence from the arrogance of its rulers and from the atmosphere of insecurity. On a more personal note, Modi attacked the Prime Minister’s team for not sparing him even on the Independence Day. “Mr PM, your brigade is busy targeting Modi on their computers. Don't they have a world beyond Modi,” he asked. He said that on Independence Day, they could've at least sung the national anthem!