“Full of propaganda”: Maharashtra Opposition slams PM Modi’s address to the nation

The opposition in Maharashtra on Saturday strongly criticised Prime Minister PM Narendra Modis address to the nation alleging that it was filled with false claims and that he made no mention of delinking delimitation from womens reservation news agency PTI reportedCongress leaders Harshwardhan Sapkal and Nana Patole Nationalist Congress Party SP legislator Rohit Pawar and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said PM Modis speech for mainly focusing on attacking rival partiesSapkal who is the state Congress chief claimed that the speech was full of propaganda and false claims targeting the Congress In a statement he said that instead of addressing key national issues PM Modi devoted a significant portion of his 30minute address to attacking the Congress mentioning the party 58 timesSapkal rejected the PMs assertion that the Congress had opposed initiatives such as the JAM Jan DhanAadhaarMobile trinity and the Goods and Services Tax GST He said Aadhaar was launched in 2010 in Maharashtras Nandurbar under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia GandhiHe further claimed that the GST framework was advanced under the Congressled government and alleged that Modi as Gujarat chief minister at the time had opposed itThe Congress leader also demanded immediate implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act which was passed in September 2023 with support from Opposition parties He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party BJPled government of misleading women on the reservation issue and demanded that the PM apologise to themPatole claimed that reactions on social media during the PMs address showed widespread public dissatisfaction with a majority of people being critical of him The Congress leader said the PM appeared angry during his speech and questioned the governments handling of the womens quota billPawar meanwhile stated that no one in the world is as skilled as the BJP at turning their defeats into political advantageTodays speech which is miles away from the truth looks like nothing but an attempt to cash in on yesterdays defeat he allegedThe NCP Sharadchandra Pawar legislator claimed that the lotus BJP symbol would not bloom in Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal He added that after hearing the three major Opposition parties mentioned four times each in the speech his belief had become stronger that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam DMK would return to power in Tamil Nadu Trinamool Congress TMC would form the government in West Bengal and the Samajwadi Party SPCongress alliance would win in Uttar Pradesh in 2027 Pawar predicted that by 2029 the country would side with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA bloc once againMeanwhile Chaturvedi expressed disappointment that PM Modi gave no assurance to women regarding delinking the 2023 Act from the Census and delimitation which would have made it implementable from 2029 itself In a post on X she said it was disappointing that the national broadcaster was used to attack TMC and DMK both of which are in direct electoral battle with the BJP and its alliesModi in his address to the nation on Saturday mdash a day after the bill to implement 33 per cent womens reservation in legislatures was defeated in the Lok Sabha mdash had said that Opposition parties such as the Congress DMK TMC and SP had mercilessly crushed the dreams of women by blocking the billWith PTI inputs