Independence Day speech: Narendra Modi takes on Manmohan Singh head on

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Bhuj, Gujarat: In a fiery Independence Day speech here, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh head on saying his speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort was disappointing and failed to address critical issues on a weak rupee and the tattered state of the economy. The PM failed to list out his plans to fight the greatest problem of the nation – corruption, he said.
Modi renewed his invitation to take on Manmohan Singh in an open debate on the state of the nation.
The Gujarat CM said the youth of India is restless and is looking for a change.
Modi also tore into the Food Security Bill and said it was not meant to serve the poor and the needy. States were not consulted on this issue, he alleged.
The BJP leader, widely believed to be the saffron party’s PM candidate in the next elections, said the PM serves only one family – in a veiled reference to Manmohan Singh’s perceived subservience to Sonia Gandhi. In this context, Modi wondered why the PM failed to acknowledge the contribution of Lal Bhadur Shastri.
Modi asked people to take a pledge to root out corruption.
The Gujarat CM lauded the speech of President Pranab Mukherjee and said the PM address to the nation lacked vision or direction.
Modi focused on three issues: rooting out corruption, education for the masses and providing employment. He said objectives should be high even if the pace is slow.