New Delhi:While the BJP said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address has mapped India's transformation in the last 10 years of his government and outlined the steps to make it a global powerhouse, the Opposition, particularly the Congress, took exception to Mr Modi's "communal civil code" remark, calling it a "gross insult" to B.R. Ambedkar and alleged that the PM's capacity for "malice, mischief and maligning" of history was on full display from the Red Fort.
In a post on X, Union home minister Amit Shah said Mr Modi's address cast "a panoramic view of a radiant future on the horizon" and also instilled in Bharat the power of the unwavering belief that it can achieve the goal.
Mr Shah posted, "Over the last 10 years, Bharat has charted a journey of self-transformation through course corrections. It is a new Bharat with citizen-driven governance. It is a new Bharat that firmly believes that 140 crore citizens can certainly achieve the greatness, prosperity and progress they deserve."
The Opposition leaders, however, slammed the Prime Minister's Independence Day speech, alleging that it failed to unite and inspire people or address important issues faced by the nation. Slamming Mr Modi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The non-biological PM's capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows no bounds. It was on full display today from the Red Fort."
"To say that we have had a 'communal civil code' till now is a gross insult to B.R. Ambedkar, who was the greatest champion of reforms in Hindu personal laws that became a reality by the mid-1950s. These reforms had been bitterly opposed by the RSS and the Jan Sangh," Mr Ramesh posted on X.
Communist Party of India general secretary D, Raja said the Prime Minister's speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India's 78th Independence Day did not place any issue before the nation to unite and inspire people. "Whatever he spoke is in line with the sinister, divisive agenda of the RSS," Mr Raja said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha said the Prime Minister has not realised that there is only one PM in the country and those who voted for the Opposition do not have a separate PM.
"The most important and concerning point is that even for the 11th time, Mr Modi has failed to understand that he is the country's Prime Minister. The Opposition or the people who did not vote for you do not have a separate Prime Minister," Mr Jha said.
Hitting back, the BJP cited B.R. Ambedkar's remarks in the Constituent Assembly to rebut the Congress' criticism of Mr Modi's call for a Uniform Civil Code as a "gross insult" to the makers of the Constitution.
