Feeling isolated and left out, BJP patriarch L.K. Advani has decided to make Mr Modi’s run for the top post as rough as possible, a senior BJP functionary said and added that Mr Advani’s remarks yet again “brings out the simmering differences within the BJP”.
Mr Modi also failed earn any applause from Shiv Sena. “We have the entire year ahead of us to comment on what the Prime Minister says. Today we must listen to him and let the criticism for some other day,” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.
The JD(U), which parted ways with the BJP following Mr Modi’s elevation, also did not appreciate the attack on the Prime Minister. “In a way, this is a joke. What am I supposed to say on this? It shows that we cannot leave politics even on the occasion of Independence Day. Today is a day to celebrate the freedom movement and the history of the country. On such a day, it is unfortunate if you use the opportunity to stage a gimmick,” JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said.