Modi's maiden I-Day speech comes under fire from Left parties

Question move to abolish Plan Panel, say he failed to talk about empowering people

Left parties were today critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden Independence Day speech with CPI(M) questioning the announcement that the government will abolish the Planning Commission while CPI charged that he failed to talk about empowering people.

"There is a lot of gap between the walk and the talk. Always these yojnas (schemes) are implemented by the Planning Commission. Now you (Modi) said you will dismantle it. So who is going to do it (implement schemes) and who is going to monitor it," said CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury.

Delivering the Prime Minister's Independence Day address, Modi said the government has decided to abolish the Planning Commission, a 64-year-old apex policy-making body, and replace it with a new set-up which would address emerging economic needs and strengthen the federal structure.

"We will very soon set up a new institution in place of the Planning Commission," Modi said today.

Meanwhile, CPI general secretary D Raja said that although Modi talked about poverty, he failed to talk about empowering people in the proper sense.

"The Prime Minister, while attacking poverty, did not talk about empowering people in the proper sense... About the responsibility of the government in fighting inflation, unearthing black money," Raja said.