“Lacklustre and uninspiring”: Mayawati’s verdict on PM’s I-Day speech

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday termed the Independence Day speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi as "lacklustre and uninspiring" that failed to instil enthusiasm among the people of the country.

In a statement issued here, the former Chief Minister said that the speech delivered from the Red Fort in Delhi was "more political and in election mode as is the habit of the Prime Minister".

"The long speech was neither inspiring nor assuring to the people about safety and security of their lives and property as well as protection of religious freedom."

The BSP leader also slammed him for not speaking on various burning issues like price rise, rising unemployment, spiralling fuel prices and fall of the value of Indian rupee against the dollar.

"Such speeches are better reserved for Parliament. It would have been better if Modi had used this occasion to reassure the people on a slew of issues troubling them, the BSP supremo said.

The Dalit leader lamented that MOdi was "always obsessed with electoral politics, so much so that the interests of the nation and its people were never on his mind".

"In his speech, once again, the Prime Minister has tried to credit himself for all good happening in the country," she said, adding that the country's people were seeing through the falsehood being propagated by Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.