Congress criticises PM Modi’s RSS praise in I-Day speech, says violation of secular republic

Congress MP and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday, 15 August, sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for praising the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in his Independence Day speech, calling it a “blatant violation of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic.”

Soon after PM Modi described the RSS as the “world’s largest NGO” and lauded its social contributions, Ramesh took to X, terming the 103-minute address “stale, hypocritical, lacklustre, and alarming” — a “dull mix of self-praise” that politicised a national occasion for organisational and personal gain.

He noted that this was not the first time the PM had publicly credited the RSS, recalling an earlier podcast appearance with Lex Fridman where Modi said the organisation gave him “a life of purpose” and discipline, alongside a service-driven philosophy.

Ramesh accused the PM of omitting any “honest mention” of India’s economic distress, unemployment crisis, and widening inequality. He argued that Modi’s assurances to farmers were untrustworthy given the attempt to impose the now-repealed farm laws, and criticised the absence of concrete measures such as a legal MSP guarantee or loan waivers.

On employment, Ramesh dismissed the speech as “superficial talk” with no credible roadmap, while highlighting that it was the Congress government in the 1980s that set up India’s first semiconductor complex in Chandigarh.

He also demanded accountability over alleged irregularities in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, claiming millions were being disenfranchised.

With IANS inputs