‘Extremely courageous’: Shatrughan Sinha on PM Modi’s Independence Day speech

Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Independence Day speech. Sinha an arch-critic of BJP called Prime Minister’s speech "courageous, well-researched and thought-provoking". In a tweet Sinha wrote: "Since I'm famous or infamous for calling a spade a spade, I must admit here, Hon'ble PM that your speech from the #RedFort on 15th Aug'19 was extremely courageous, well researched & thought provoking. Superb delivery of the key problems facing the country."

Since I'm famous or infamous for calling a spade a spade, I must admit here, Hon'ble PM @narendermodi @PMOIndia that your speech from the #RedFort on 15th Aug’19 was extremely courageous, well researched & thought provoking. Superb delivery of the key problems facing the country.

— Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) August 18, 2019

Earlier, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram had praised PM Modi for his speech. “All of us must welcome three announcements made by the PM on I-Day, Small family is a patriotic duty, Respect wealth creators, Shun single-use plastic,” he wrote on Twitter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech on Thursday urged people to stop using single-use plastic and encouraged the use of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment.

"During my 2014 speech, I spoke about cleanliness. It became a movement in the country and the common man took it up with gusto. Today, I have another request. By October 2, on the birth anniversary of dear Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi), I want to urge the citizens to give up single-use plastic," Modi said from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

Voicing concern over "population explosion", the prime minister said it leads to many difficulties and there was a need for the Centre as well as state governments to launch schemes to tackle it.

Keeping one's families small is an act of patriotism and those who do so deserve our respect and need to be felicitated, he said.

"Population explosion has been occurring at an unrestrained pace. This population explosion is creating innumerable challenges for us and the coming generations," the prime minister said.