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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bhardwaj strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech, claiming that the Prime Minister's addresses have become repetitive and lack freshness.

Bhardwaj said there was “no such spark” left in the Prime Minister's speeches and linked the appeal of the Gen-Z movement to its fresh, innovative and creative way of presenting issues.

He said, “Now listening to the Prime Minister's speeches is becoming boring. I think out of 365 days in a year, the Prime Minister gives a speech 200 times and the public is made to listen to his speech 200 times. So there is no such thing, no such spark, no such thing in his speech, there is no such factor left that makes him listen. He keeps repeating the same old things again and again and he should understand why the Gen Z movement became such a big movement? Because there was a fresh way of saying everything. There was an innovative and creative aspect to putting forth every thing.”

‘PM Should Have Retired At His Peak’

Bhardwaj also commented on Modi's political journey, saying he believed the Prime Minister should have retired when he was at his peak.

“Looking at the Prime Minister, it seems he should have retired when he was at his peak. Now, with his downward spiral, the situation is only getting worse for him,” he said.

‘Conspiracy’ Behind Teleprompter Issue

Bhardwaj also referred to an incident during Modi's Independence Day speech in which the Prime Minister paused, citing a tweet by AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Bhardwaj alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched against the Prime Minister and questioned how the teleprompter could have been switched off during such a major event.

He said, “Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted that the Prime Minister stopped at a point while delivering his speech. He questioned this. I believe a conspiracy was hatched against the Prime Minister. How was the Prime Minister's teleprompter allowed to be switched off? In such a big event, the teleprompter should be checked several times.”

He further said, “I think the figures given to him were probably written in small print. He was having difficulty reading them. He probably misread 150,000 as 2500,000. However, it is a very common question that where will 2500,000 electric vehicles come from in 2009-2010?”

Bhardwaj said he believed an insider could be tampering with the teleprompter to tarnish the Prime Minister's image.

Rahul Gandhi, Kharge Absence Sparks Political Attack

Bhardwaj also commented on the absence of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge from the Independence Day celebrations.

He alleged that the BJP government had undermined the decorum and protocol associated with opposition leaders.

“If the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks that if a guest comes to your house from the opposition, then you should insult him. You should make him sit in the 10th row at the back and have the cameraman play his video repeatedly saying, Sir, look where he has been made to sit at the back and yet the opposition leaders, even after being insulted, keep coming again and again to get beaten up by them, then this will not happen,” he said.

He added, “When you insult the opposition, then why will the opposition come? Will they come only to insult you again?”

‘We Have No Friends Left’: Bhardwaj On Foreign Policy

Bhardwaj also criticised the BJP government over its foreign policy and India's international standing.

He said the government had repeatedly highlighted India's reputation abroad and its strong economy over the past 12 years, but claimed that the situation had now changed.

“But now it is becoming clear that all that was a lie, a complete lie. And it seems that Narendra Modi ji has taken this country back almost 25 years. He has tarnished our credibility. We have no friends left,” he said.

Bhardwaj Targets Rekha Gupta Government

Bhardwaj also targeted Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, raising allegations concerning bicycle purchases, rice distribution and a health scam.

He alleged that rice meant for poor families had not been distributed and that irregularities had occurred in the procurement of bicycles.

“Children are being given bicycles worth Rs 4,000 for Rs 7,000 and Rekha Gupta ji has not conducted any investigation into it till now,” he said.

On the rice issue, Bhardwaj said that if 50,000 metric tons of rice were distributed among approximately 1.7 million poor families in Delhi, each family would receive around 28 kilograms of rice.

He also alleged irregularities in the health sector, saying three officers were sent to jail but no action was taken against the minister.

On the bicycle purchases, he said, “I bought it and showed you that brother, I bought a bicycle for Rs 400. You are buying a bicycle for Rs 1,30,000 and you are buying it for Rs 7,000 and there is no loot in this? This is blatant loot.”

Targeting Rekha Gupta, Bhardwaj said, “Rekha Gupta ji is a very weak Chief Minister. There is open loot going on inside the ministries and she is not even able to ask questions to the ministers.”