Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vajpayee missing from PM's speech: BJP

As Prime Minister Manmohan named his predecessors in his independence day speech, BJP questioned why Lal Bahadur Shastri, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Morarji Desai were missed out.

"Dr Manmohan Singh referred to four Prime Ministers who contributed to the making of India - all from Cong party," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet.

"He forgot even Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri there," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

"The contribution of Shri Morarji Desai and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been no less. This partisan approach does not go with the solemnity of this great occasion," she said.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman spoke similarly.

"Surprised the Prime Minister skips mention of his immediate predecessor Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee while recalling most PMs before him," Sitharaman said on Twitter.

Manmohan Singh, in his independence day speech recounted the achievements of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narsimha Rao.