Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday refused to comment on PM Modi’s Independence Day speech in which PM Modi said corruption and nepotism are two big challenges the country is facing today. “I won’t comment. Happy Independence Day,” Rahul Gandhi said, while party president Sonia Gandhi in her Independence Day statement criticised the ‘narcissism’ of the government. Party leader Pawan Khera said PM Modi’s speech touched a low as he raised some political issues which must be BJP’s ‘internal’ matter, Pawan Khera said.
As PM Modi laid out the framework of the next 25 years for the centenary of India’s independence, he said India’s two main challenges are corruption and bhai-bhatijawad. “When I talk about nepotism and dynasty, people think I am talking about politics only. No, unfortunately, this evil of politics has nurtured nepotism in every institution,” PM Modi said.
“Just like Bhai-Bhatijawaad (nepotism) in politics, there was a lack of transparency in the selection of players for sports competitions. This was a huge factor due to which our players’ talent was wasted,” PM Modi said.
As Rahul Gandhi was asked to comment on this, he refused to comment.
Earlier, Pawan Khera said he thinks that PM Modi’s comment on nepotism was about an internal matter of his party. Probably, he was attacking his own party members or their sons, Pawan Khera said. “But today the country expected Modi ji to give a report card and an account of his eight years of rule. The farmer was expecting an answer from him on doubling of farmers’ income, of houses for all, tap water in every house. People expected a report card from him. The prime minister has let the entire nation down as well as his supporters as all eyes were on the Red Fort,” he said.
This comes amid the ongoing row between the BJP and the Congress over India’s freedom movement. BJP has blamed Jawahar Lal Nehru for Partition and the Congress countered it by saying that Savarkar was the founder of the two-nation theory. In an advertisement for Har Ghar Tiranga, the Karnataka government dropped Nehru from the list of freedom fighters. Rahul Gandhi refused to comment on this issue too. “You will not be able to reduce the stature of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Instead, you should strive to bring yourself forward. They have their style of how to whitewash history as they have not made any contribution to the freedom struggle,” Pawan Khera said.
