PM Modi has dishonoured memory of martyrs by praising RSS in I-Day speech: CPI(M)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday (August 15, 2025) said it is “deeply regrettable” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to praise the RSS in his Independence Day speech, and called it an organisation with a “dubious historical record”.

In a message greeting the nation on the 79th Independence Day, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was banned following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and historians have documented the organisation’s role in “inciting communal riots”.

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“My heartiest greetings on the 79th Independence Day. India’s journey to freedom from colonial rule was long and arduous. Martyrs like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Ashfaqullah Khan live in our memories not just today, but every single day,” Mr. Baby said in a post on X.

“From Mahatma Gandhi to Subhas Chandra Bose, from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to Com. P Krishna Pillai, EMS, AKG, Akkamma Cheriyan — and countless others — the selfless struggles they waged form the very foundation of our independence,” he said.

He alleged that by lauding the RSS, the Prime Minister “has dishonoured the memory of our martyrs”.

“It is deeply regrettable that Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, chose to praise the RSS — an organisation with a dubious historical record. An organisation which had no role whatsoever in these struggles and has consistently sought to undermine national unity along religious lines,” he said.

“Historians have documented its role in inciting communal riots and other violence. Notably, the organisation was banned following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of our freedom struggle,” he said.

“By lauding the RSS on this Independence Day, Prime Minister Modi has dishonoured the memory of our martyrs and the spirit of our freedom movement. This is profoundly unacceptable and shameful,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi on Friday (August 15, 2025) hailed 100 years of RSS as a “very proud and glorious” journey of the “world’s biggest NGO” and lauded all its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation.