New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The CPI-M on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech was a "display of toxic politics", and said his comments against appeasement was a clear signal that communal polarisation would be on the agenda in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

"It is the attack on the politics of appeasement, which is new and ominous in the Independence Day speech. Appeasement means minority appeasement. According to Modi, this appeasement has put a blot on national character and harmed social justice.

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"Modi was condemning minority appeasement from the ramparts of the Red Fort, just 70 kilometres away from Nuh where there was widespread communal violence only a few days ago, in which the Muslims bore the brunt of attacks by the Hindutva goons and were targeted by the state administration," the latest editorial of party mouthpiece People's Democracy has said.

It further said that for Modi, to decry minority appeasement at a time when Muslim homes and shops were bulldozed by the administration, is a "clear signal that communal polarisation will be on the agenda for escalation in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls".

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"All in all, the tenth Independence Day speech of Narendra Modi was a display of the toxic politics of the BJP-RSS combine," the edit said.

It also said that while Modi touched upon the Manipur situation right at the beginning of his speech, but the reference was "superficial".

"The speech saw a sharp attack on the opposition, unlike earlier Independence Day speeches. He attacked dynastic politics, corruption and appeasement (tushtikaran) politics. Referring to his pet theme, he said that dynasty parties are a “disease” and “deformity” in Indian democracy. However, this tirade against dynastic politics ignores the fact that within the BJP, more and more political dynasts are assuming key positions at the state and national levels," it said.

It also alleged that corruption is being used as a weapon against the opposition.

"The Enforcement Directorate has been weaponised to crackdown on opposition leaders. That corruption is purely a weapon against the opposition is amply clear when we see the record of high level corruption in the past nine years and how the Modi government has tackled it.

Apart from burying the glaring discrepancies in the Rafale deal, the latest CAG report has exposed wide ranging corruption in the building of highways and in the implementation of various central government schemes like the PM-JAY," the party said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)