Politicians critical of Modi's I-Day speech

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Friday criticized Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his personalised attack of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech on the occasion of India's 67th Independence Day, saying the BJP appeared to be in hurry to become the next Prime Minister.

It said the Congress Party should have retaliated.

Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal said that if Narendra Modi had made such statements against their party, they would have definitely given a befitting reply.

"It seems as if Narendra Modi is in a hurry to become the Prime Minister of India. The manner in which he made personal allegations, I don't understand why Congress does not retaliate. If it was done with our party, we would have given a befitting reply," he said.

"A person should be firm to be successful, he should be like a tree which provides shade and I don't see any such quality in Narendra Modi. And people of the country did not consider the attacks by Modi on Prime Minister and Nehru family as correct," he added.

Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader, Rashid Masood, said that Modi was being thrust upon the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"There is a hierarchy in the party according to which the party functions. When somebody tries to choose somebody from the party and impose them on the party, just like the RSS is imposing Modi, most of the leaders in the BJP are under stress," he said.

"Most of the leaders of BJP are under pressure and because of this, and L.K. Advani is one of them as he is the senior most leaders. All senior leaders are under pressure and this is not a good thing for the party," he added.

Modi, on the occasion of India's 67th Independence Day, dubbed the Prime Minister's speech as uninspiring, and accused him of taking a soft stand against Pakistan despite the recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

Addressing the people of Gujarat on the occasion of Independence Day in Bhuj, Modi pointed out the failures of the UPA Government, especially with regard to the Prime Minister's omission of making a strong statement against Pakistan during his Red Fort Independence Day address.

Describing the Prime Minister's address as a 'disappointment', Modi alleged that Dr. Singh's speech mimicked that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's on the country's first Independence Day, and questioned what the Congress had done if our problems still remain the same.

"The Prime Minister echoed the concerns that Pandit Nehru expressed at his first address. The question, then is, that what have you done in the last 60 years?" Modi said.

"I challenge the Prime Minister to an open debate on all key issues," Modi added.