In an unexpected move, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 77th Independence Day speech today. Instead, he sent out a recorded message which largely emphasized the on the revolutionary contributions of India's erstwhile Prime Ministers. It has been reported that a chair with Mallikarjun Kharge's name remained vacant during the Red Fort event this morning.
Explaining his absence, Congress said the party chief was 'not feeling well'.
What did Kharge say in his video message?
In his recorded video message on 77th Independence Day, paid tribute to the stalwarts of Indian Freedom Movement including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Sarojini Naidu and BR Ambedkar.
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The message widely emphasized on the contributions of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress PMs like Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. He also mentioned BJP icon Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"Every Prime Minister has contributed to the progress of the nation. Today some people try to say that India has seen progress only in the past few years," the Congress president said, in an apparent swipe at PM Modi.
"Along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, all PMs thought about the nation and took many steps for development. It is with pain that I say that today democracy, Constitution and autonomous bodies are under serious threat. New tools are being used to stifle the voice of the opposition. Not only are there CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax raids, the Election Commission is also being weakened. Opposition MPs are being muzzled, suspended, mics are being muted, speeches are being expunged..."
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The policies of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi helped India become atma nirbhar (self-reliant), he said, using one of PM Modi's key mantras.
"Great leaders don't erase past history to create new history. They try to rename everything - they renamed past schemes, infrastructure projects, they are ripping apart democracy with their dictatorial ways. Now they are renaming old laws that established peace in the country. First they said 'acche din', then new India, now Amrut Kaal - are they not changing names to hide their failures?
