New Delhi: Hitting back at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge over his remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the tricolour at his home next year, AIADMK leader M Thambidurai on Wednesday said the whole of India was the PM’s home and he will raise the national flag at Red Fort next Independence Day.

Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, the leader of the AIADMK, which is a partner in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, said, “The whole of India is PM Modi’s home. He doesn’t have a family of his own and, hence, considers fellow countrymen as family members. Therefore, Red Fort is the only place in the country where he can and will raise the national flag. Kharge may have his own family but for PM Modi, the entire country is his home and family. So, what Kharge said is correct. Red Fort is his (PM Modi’s) house and he will hoist the national flag at his house next year as well.”

Reacting to PM Modi’s remarks that he will showcase the strides the country has made on the next Independence Day, during his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday, August 15, the Congress national president, who skipped the main event at the Red Fort, said, “He will hoist the national flag once again next year but at his home.”

Earlier, on Wednesday, Thambidurai arrived at the ‘Sadaiv Atal’ memorial in the national capital to lay floral tributes to the former PM on his fifth death anniversary.

Significantly, the BJP, for the first time, invited fellow partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to the event to pay tributes to the three-time former PM.

Among the partner leaders of the NDA at the event were former Bihar chief minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi, Tamil Manila Congress leader GK Vasan, AIADMK’s Thambi Durai, Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel, NCP leaders Praful Patel and Agatha Sangama, among others.

On the invitation extended by the BJP to all NDA partners on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday, Thambidurai said, “We are very happy to be here and thank the BJP for inviting us. We have always had great respect for Atal-ji.”

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje also arrived at Vajpayee’s memorial to pay floral tributes to the departed leader, who was conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour.

“Atal-ji was an inspiration for all of us. We are here today to offer him our respects on his death anniversary. He inspired the whole country through his leadership. He taught us how to run a government effectively by taking all coalition partners along. We are only following in his footsteps. He may not be with us anymore but his inspiration and blessings continue to guide us,” she told ANI on Wednesday.

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday led the tributes to Vajpayee on his fifth death anniversary at the ‘Sadaiv Atal’ memorial.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, too, laid floral tributes at the memorial of the saffron stalwart.

Born in Gwalior in 1924, Vajpayee was the face of the BJP for decades and was the first non-Congress prime minister to have served a full term in office.

He served as the Prime Minister of India from May 16, 1996, to June 1, 1996, and again from 19 March 1998 to 22 May 2004.

He also served as India’s External Affairs Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Moraji Desai from 1977 to 1979. He passed away at AIIMS Hospital in Delhi on August 16 in 2018.