Cong calls PM Modi's I-Day address 'election speech filled with distortions'

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of 77th Independence Day, saying the PM gave an "election speech filled with distortions, lies, exaggerations and vague promises".

"On August 15, rather than reporting to the people what his government had achieved in the past nine years, Prime Minister Modi gave a crass election speech filled with distortions, lies, exaggerations and vague promises.

"Instead of bringing the country together, to celebrate our journey so far, acknowledge the pain and anguish of those suffering, and accept the challenges ahead, he made it all about himself and his image," Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh, said in statement.

He added, "Prime Minister Modi’s failures in the last nine years can be categorised under 'durniti' (wrong policies), 'anyay' (injustice) and 'badniyat' (ill intention). Rhetoric and bluster can no longer cover up this truth which is now evident to the entire country."

Referring to the Manipur situation, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP said, "The Prime Minister barely addressed the devastation caused by the violence in Manipur, casually comparing it to incidents in other parts of the country. He showed no sorrow or acknowledgment of the abject failures which have led to Manipur turning into a war zone."

"He brazenly claimed that Bharat Mata is being rejuvenated in Amrit Kaal - when the whole nation has witnessed her fate in Manipur where women are being brutally violated," Ramesh said.

The Congress and other Opposition parties have been blaming the BJP-led government in Manipur for the current situation there, and demanding the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

"The Prime Minister claimed that a new world order has been ushered in as the world saw India's capability during the Covid-19 pandemic. He deliberately failed to mention that as a direct result of inadequate oxygen supplies and the PM's failure to order adequate vaccines in a timely manner, India ended up with 40 lakh Covid deaths - the world's highest death toll - according to the World Health Organization (WHO)," he said.

Ramesh added, "He played a cruel joke on the Anganwadi and ASHA workers by thanking them for delivering 200 crore vaccines, especially when the families of many of these essential workers were denied compensation after they had died fighting the pandemic, and those living were not even paid their wages."

On India-China border situation, Ramesh said, "It takes particular audacity to claim that our borders are safer than before when Chinese troops continue to block Indian access to 2,000 square km of Indian territory in Depsang and Demchok, more than three years after they intruded. There is no bigger insult to our armed forces than lying about national security from the Red Fort.

"The Prime Minister said the trinity of demography, democracy and diversity will help India become a developed country. But he has failed on all three fronts in the last nine years."