Congress ridicules Narendra Modi over Independence Day speech remarks

NEW DELHI: Congress today ridiculed Narendra Modi's attempt to draw a parallel between his speech at a Gujarat college tomorrow and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day address from Red Fort, calling him "an arrogant man full of himself".

Communication and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said those hearing him will be curious as to what "misstatement of facts he is now going to make".

"I am glad that those around the nation will hear the Prime Minister," he said.

"I hope he does not trivialise national issues and makes misstatement of facts which he is prone to make," Sibal, who is also in charge of law ministery, said.

"Every time he makes a speech, there is some false figure, false fact which he knows to be false," Sibal alleged, adding that Modi in one speech had claimed that China spends 20 per cent of its GDP on education.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said Modi is an "arrogant man full of himself".

"If he gets something higher in politics, one can understand what he will do to the country," he said.

Modi said in a speech in Gujarati that the country would hear two speeches tomorrow, one that he would make from Lalan College in Gujarat and another the PM will make from Red Fort.

His speech, he suggested, would give people dreams and hopes while Singh's would be of despair.