New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): Congress leader Shama Mohamed on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to the organisation as an NGO.

In a scathing remark, Mohamed accused the RSS of 'dividing people' in the country for the past century and linked it to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

'I just wanted to ask the Prime Minister what this NGO has done other than dividing people in this country for the last 100 years. This NGO has produced a person called Godse who has killed Bapu. If this is the NGO he's talking about, then I wouldn't call it an NGO. This is not an NGO, but it's an organisation that divides the people of India...,' Mohamed said.

Congress MP Imran Masood said, 'They didn't hoist the Tiranga for 52 years, they didn't contribute to the freedom movement. They had opposed the Quit India Movement. They were urging people to join the British Army to fight the Azad Hind Fauj. So, they had no contribution to the freedom movement...They should give an account for those 52 years. You didn't believe in the Tiranga, didn't believe in the Constitution...Sardar Patel had banned this...'

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi, in his 79th Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on Friday, hailed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for completing 100 years of service to the nation, describing it as the 'biggest NGO in the world' and praising its century-long contribution to nation-building.

'Today, I would like to proudly mention that 100 years ago, an organisation was born - Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). One hundred years of service to the nation is a proud, golden chapter. With the resolve of 'vyakti nirman se rashtra nirman', with the aim of the welfare of Maa Bharati, swayamsevaks dedicated their lives to the welfare of our motherland...In a way, RSS is the biggest NGO in the world. It has a history of 100 years of dedication,' PM Modi said.

PM also invoked the 1975 Emergency, terming it a 'sin of murdering the Constitution' and urging citizens to stay steadfast in defending democratic values.

Addressing the nation, PM Modi said, '50 years ago, India's Constitution was strangled and backstabbed; the country was turned into a jail. An emergency was imposed. It has been 50 years since the Emergency. No generation in the country should forget this sin of murdering the Constitution. They should not forget the sinners who murdered the Constitution. We should go ahead by further strengthening our dedication to the Constitution of India. That is our inspiration.' (ANI)