It was speech versus speech. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, took on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and in a veiled attack on his brand of hawkish politics warned that “narrow and sectarian ideologies” would weaken democracy in the country.
“There can be no place for narrow and sectarian ideologies in a modern, progressive and secular country. Such ideologies divide our society and weaken our democracy. We should prevent them from growing,” Dr Singh said.
In his last Independence Day speech prior to the general election, Dr Singh said there was a need to “build an environment of political stability, social cohesion and security to ensure that the country continues to progress and gets rid of poverty, disease and ignorance”. Dr Singh tried to drive home his message by saying: “Our India will be prosperous and all citizens will be equal partners in this prosperity, irrespective of their religion, caste, region or language.”
In a stern message to Pakistan, the Prime Minister said “anti-India activities will have to stop for relations to improve”, and that steps must be taken to prevent “dastardly” acts like killing Indian soldiers on the LoC. “For relations with Pakistan to improve, it is essential they prevent the use of their territory and territory under their control for any anti-India activity,” Dr Singh said.
The PM expressed the hope that Parliament “will pass” the Food Security Bill and claimed the economic slowdown “will not last for long”. He also pointed out that despite some worrisome