While BJP said the speech did not address the issue of corruption properly, CPI believed it reflected the helplessness of the government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech was unimpressive and failed to address the concerns of the people, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left said Monday.
In senior BJP leader LK Advani's view, the coming year should be one of accountability unlike 2010, the "year of scams".
While the main opposition BJP said the speech did not address the issue of corruption properly, the Communist Party of India (CPI) believed it reflected the helplessness of the government.
“In the wake of this monumental corruption in his government, we were expecting the prime minister to come forward with very clear references on what action he proposes to take on his own account in the massive scams we are witnessing, and what follow up actions he proposes to take himself. There was no assurance on that account,” BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
“He talked about the Lokpal and said it is in parliament. We understand that, but the nation also expected the prime minister to speak something... what the government proposes to do so such situations don't arise again and again,” he said.
Advani added, “When the year 2010 had ended, I had lamented that the year would go down in the Indian history as a year of scams. If last year was the year of scams, then at the end of this year, people should have the satisfaction that answerability was sought for last year."
CPI leader D Raja added the speech left no impression.
“I do not think the prime minister's speech made any impression or gives any motivation to the masses of our country,” Raja said.
“In fact, the prime minister's speech reflects the helplessness of this government and pleads for some kind of a 'take it as it is' attitude,” he said.
“The government may not have a magic wand, we don't want the government to get a magic wand," Raja added, referring to the prime minister's statement.
"But the government has the power, how that power is being used by the prime minister, the head of government that is the point. That actually shows weakness, vulnerability of the government. The prime minister looks very much helpless,” Raja said.
Stating corruption was a problem deeply concerning all, Manmohan Singh said, "This is a difficulty for which no government has a magic wand. We are taking simultaneous action on many fronts in our fight against corruption."
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