Modi's I-Day speech 'most disappointing': Congress

The Congress Party on 15 August branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address as 'disappointing', and termed it as a betrayal of the youth, farmers and weaker sections of society.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, addressing a press conference here, alleged that Prime Minister Modi did not understand the gravity of the situation in Gorakhpur, and had equated it to a natural calamity.

"Prime Minister Modi in a very trivial manner equated the Gorakhpur tragedy to the other natural calamities. I think he does not understand the intensity of the situation. He should've been careful," the former union minister said.

With regard to the situation prevailing in Kashmir, Sharma opined that rather than just making claims, the Prime Minister should address the issue in depth.

"Prime Minister Modi mentioned the surgical strike in his speech, but this was a year old. Since September, there have been many attacks and there is constant firing. It is important to address this. At this point, the Prime Minister should have assured the people of the nation about national interest being in safe hands," he said.

Responding to the Prime Minister's fight against corruption, Sharma questioned as to why the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had gone silent on the issue of accounting for seized demonetised currency after March 31.

Additionally, the Congress leader said the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was possible only due to the support extended by the Opposition, which was not acknowledged by the Prime Minister in his address.

"Neither did he acknowledge the Opposition, nor did he think it was his responsibility to mention the leaders who were responsible for India's independence such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The economy was not prepared for the GST or demonetisation, and therefore, was badly hit," he said.

"Many Indians in the informal sector are losing jobs. The Prime Minister had said that two crore jobs will be created every year. But now, he is absolutely mum regarding the same. Even the farmers have not been given the remunerations they were promised. He needs to take responsibility for the same," said Sharma.

Defending this stance, Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid lashed out at Prime Minister Modi, urging him to take account of the loopholes in the system.

Responding to his comment on Kashmir, Khurshid said there is no question of raising the point of avoiding foul language when it is not being used in the first place.

"No one has used such foul language, why is he saying so? Before commenting, he must look at his party first and then talk about others.

It seems like his party workers and leaders don't follow his commands," Khurshid told ANI.

Meanwhile, Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi unfurled the national flag at the Congress office in New Delhi, commemorating the 71st Independence Day, in the presence of Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders. 

-ANI