New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort set off a familiar political clash on Saturday, August 15, with the BJP hailing his blueprint for a developed India and the Congress accusing him of stoking division on the day meant to mark national unity.
Addressing the nation on India’s 80th Independence Day, his 13th consecutive address from the ramparts, Modi laid out a roadmap for “Viksit Bharat” by 2047 and unveiled “Shakti Ki Saptadhara,” a seven-part framework spanning manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and India’s soft power. He also announced free online coaching for competitive exams and AI training for one crore young people, while pressing the case for self-reliance, energy security and domestic manufacturing.
The speech’s most contested line came when Modi said armed Naxalism had been all but eliminated from India’s forests, but warned that “dimaagi Naxals”, people he described as carrying a Maoist mindset while operating from within the corridors of power, including as advisers on government committees, remained a threat. He called for such people to be identified and isolated so the country’s youth could be drawn into the mainstream push for development.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh dismissed the remark as a sign of desperation, noting that Modi had previously used the term “urban Naxals” for his critics, and took a pointed jibe at the Prime Minister’s rhetoric in a social media post.
Reacting to Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort, Ramesh drew a parallel with the “urban Naxal” tag the Prime Minister had used against critics in the past. He recalled that when the term came up in Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah had told the House that no such official definition exists. Modi, he said, was now using a similar label — “mental Naxal” — for his opponents.
Ramesh argued that the pattern extends beyond rhetoric. He said the government routinely criticises the demands raised by those it brands “urban Naxals,” only to adopt those same demands later. As an example, he pointed to the caste census, which Modi had earlier dismissed as “urban Naxal” thinking before his government announced one a year ago.
“First you make derogatory remarks — calling them urban Naxals or mental Naxals — but later you accept the very demands your political opponents were making,” Ramesh said, adding that there was nothing new in the Prime Minister’s speech even after 12 years in office.
He also criticised the PM, stating that he made a dishonest pitch for women’s reservation in his address at the Red Fort. “He should know that the Parliament unanimously passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, but it was the double-faced hypocrisy of the Modi Government that made sure it won’t come into effect from the 2024 elections itself. The Adhiniyam was only notified hastily and silently late in the evening on April 16, 2026,” he said.
Further, he said that the party has been consistent in its stand to implement women’s reservation from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections within the current strength of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.
“The Prime Minister should remember that women’s reservation was introduced in the Constitution by the 73rd and 74th amendments passed in 1993, and that it was the vision and determination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi that made it happen,” he added.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used his own Independence Day message to argue that constitutional values, democratic institutions and social harmony had come under serious strain over the past decade, and called for equality and justice for women, farmers and the economically weaker sections.
The BJP defended Modi’s address, pointing to its emphasis on youth empowerment, self-reliance, manufacturing, technology, energy security and the 2047 development goal.
Sharing glimpses of the PM’s speech on X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it was filled with resolve for indigenous development, prosperity, and self-reliance. “Mr Modi’s address will prove to be a milestone in the direction of becoming a leading nation in every field.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the speech underscored the importance of India’s defence capabilities and the need for self-reliance in the defence sector from the ramparts of the Red Fort. “He laid special emphasis on drones, hypersonic technology, and cybersecurity, with regard to which the Ministry of Defence is working with utmost seriousness.”
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in a post on X stated that the PM’s address will certainly provide new energy to the country’s youthful strength and the resolve of Young India.
The competing reactions underlined the sharp political divide over Modi’s address, with the BJP casting it as a roadmap for India’s future and the opposition questioning both the government’s record and the Prime Minister’s political messaging.
