Jairam Ramesh slams Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech: 'PM's capacity for malice, mischief knows no bounds'

During his speech, his longest in 11 years, PM Modi said there was a need for a secular civil code.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech and his "communal civic code" remark, saying it was an insult to Dalit icon BR Ambedkar. He said PM Modi's capacity for "malice, mischief, and maligning" of history was on full display at the iconic Red Fort.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh attacked PM Modi over the latter's Independence Day speech. (PTI file)

During his speech, his longest in 11 years, PM Modi said there was a need for a secular civil code as the existing civil laws were discriminatory. He said the current civil code was communal.

A uniform civil code – under which uniform civil laws governing matters like marriage, divorces and inheritance would be enforced on all religions equally – is one of the BJP's main pre-poll promises.

"A large section of the country believes, which is true also, that the civil code is actually in a way a communal civil code. It discriminates (among people)," PM Modi said.

PM Modi said laws which divide the country on communal lines and become a reason for inequality have no place in a modern society.

"I would say, it is the need of the hour that India should have a secular civil code. We have lived 75 years with a communal civil code. Now, we have to move towards a secular civil code. Only then would religion-based discrimination end. It would also end the disconnect the common people feel," he added.

Jairam Ramesh slammed the remark and the speech.

"The non-biological PM's capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows no bounds. It was on full display today from the Red Fort. To say that we have had a 'communal civil code' till now is a gross insult to Dr Ambedkar, who was the greatest champion of reforms in Hindu personal laws that became a reality by the mid-1950s. These reforms had been bitterly opposed by the RSS and the Jan Sangh," he wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday that the BJP government was encouraging divisive thinking.

In his address at the AICC headquarters here on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, Kharge slammed the RSS, saying that the Sangh Parivar promoted Britishers' divide-and-rule policy for its own benefit.

"Unity in diversity is our strength and not a weakness. Some people propagate that we got independence easily but the truth is that lakhs of people made sacrifices, left their homes and even people from well-to-do families spent time in jails," he said.

Reacting to the speech, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha claimed PM Modi failed to understand he is the Prime Minister of India.

"The most important and concerning point is that even for the 11th time Narendra Modi has failed to understand that he is the country's Prime Minister... Even a polite conversation can seem awkward if it is spoken in an impolite manner," he said.

With inputs from ANI, PTI