New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech from the Red Fort has triggered a storm of criticism from opposition parties after he openly praised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), describing it as the “world’s biggest NGO” with a century of service to the nation.
The reference, one of the rare occasions when Modi has publicly lauded the RSS from the Red Fort, came alongside his tribute to Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, whom he called “the first one to sacrifice his life for the Constitution of Bharat.” The remarks have been widely seen by political observers as politically charged, coming amid reports of tension between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent organisation over the delay in appointing a new party president.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh condemned the reference as the “most troubling element” of the speech, calling it a breach of India’s secular and constitutional ethos. He alleged that the Prime Minister’s words reflected a desperate attempt to remain in favour with the RSS ahead of his seventy-fifth birthday. “Decisively weakened after the events of June 4, he is now at their complete mercy and reliant on Mohan Bhagwat’s good offices for the extension of his tenure post-September. The PM was tired today. Soon he will be retired,” Ramesh remarked.
CPI(M) leader M. A. Baby said it was “deeply regrettable” that Modi chose Independence Day to praise an organisation that had “no role whatsoever in the freedom struggle” and was even banned by the government in 1948 after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, before the ban was lifted the following year. He said the speech “dishonoured the memory of martyrs and the spirit of the freedom movement.”
RJD parliamentarian Manoj K. Jha accused the Prime Minister of using the Red Fort address for “dog whistle” politics, while AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi declared that glorifying the RSS on Independence Day was an insult to India’s freedom fighters. “The RSS and its ideological allies served as British foot soldiers. They never joined the fight for independence and hated Gandhi more than they opposed the British,” Owaisi wrote on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also criticised the remarks, noting that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had banned the RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi’s assassination. She said it was unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to invoke the organisation from the historic ramparts of the Red Fort.
The strong reactions highlight the continuing fault lines in Indian politics over the legacy of the RSS. While Modi sought to portray the organisation as a century-old institution committed to national service, opposition leaders insist that invoking it on Independence Day amounts to rewriting history and politicising a solemn national occasion.