PM has dishonoured memory of martyrs by praising RSS in I-Day speech CPI M

     New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said it is "deeply regrettable" that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to praise the RSS in his Independence Day speech and called it an organisation with a "dubious historical record".
     In a message greeting the nation on the 79th Independence Day, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was banned following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and historians have documented the organisation's role in "inciting communal riots".
     "My heartiest greetings on the 79th Independence Day. India’s journey to freedom from colonial rule was long and arduous. Martyrs like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Ashfaqullah Khan live in our memories not just today, but every single day," Baby said in a post on X.
     "From Mahatma Gandhi to Subhas Chandra Bose, from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to Com. P Krishna Pillai, EMS, AKG, Akkamma Cheriyan -- and countless others -- the selfless struggles they waged form the very foundation of our independence," he said.
     He alleged that by lauding the RSS, the prime minister "has dishonoured the memory of our martyrs" and said "this is profoundly unacceptable and shameful".
     "It is deeply regrettable that Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, chose to praise the RSS - an organisation with a dubious historical record. An organisation which had no role whatsoever in these struggles and has consistently sought to undermine national unity along religious lines," he said.
     "Historians have documented its role in inciting communal riots and other violence. Notably, the organisation was banned following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of our freedom struggle," he said.
     Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya took a dig at the prime minister over the length of his Independence Day speech.
     "Finally he has crossed the nervous 90s and reached the century mark! 65, 96, 57, 88, 83, 92, 98, 74, 90, 98, 103. Whenever he retires, his average will be Bradmanesque. Meanwhile, greater use of teleprompter instead of paper notes can help increase the average," Bhattacharya said in a post on X.
     Prime Minister Modi on Friday hailed 100 years of RSS as a "very proud and glorious" journey of the "world's biggest NGO" and lauded all its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)