PM Modi's Independence address seemed more like an election speech: Khurshid

Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort seemed more like an election speech.

"It is very sad that last year when Manmohan Singh had delivered a speech on Independence Day, Modi had raised a lot of questions. I wonder if he remembers it now. Although, there's nothing wrong in people praising PM Modi's speech today, I felt it was more of an election speech," said Khurshid.

"People are saying that it was a very good and emotional speech, but he did not mention anything about our resolutions, what is India's take on foreign policies or the national policies. This is the time to raise such issues, instead of making a speech like one would deliver on an election platform," he added.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister unfurled the national flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort after inspecting a guard of honour.

During his address, he touched upon issues related to poverty, women safety, female foeticide, the importance of the IT sector, the discontinuation of the planning commission, ways to improve India's tourism, investment potential cleanliness, making India the global manufacturing hub of the future and the problem of farmer suicides and how best to resolve it.