Chhattisgarh, Apr 24:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit out at the Congress, saying the “vote bank hungry” party wanted to implement reservation on the basis of religion.
Addressing a poll rally in Ambikapur, the headquarters of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi also said the Congress wanted to impose inheritance tax in the country and snatch the rights of people’s children.
Some forces want a “weak” government of the Congress and “INDI” alliance in the country as they thought that if India becomes ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant), their shops will be shut, he said.
“Today when I have come to Surguja, I want to present the Muslim League thinking of the Congress in front of the country. When their manifesto was released, on the same day I had said, and saying today also that the Congress manifesto has the imprint of Muslim League,” Modi said.
When the Constitution was being drafted, it was decided under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar that there would be no reservation on the basis of religion in India, he said.
“If there will be reservation then it will be for by Dalit brothers and sisters and tribal brothers and sisters,” he said.
“But the vote bank hungry Congress never cared about the words of the great personalities, sanctity of the Constitution and the words of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Years ago, the Congress made an attempt to implement reservation on the basis of religion in Andhra Pradesh. Then Congress has planned to implement it in the entire country,” Modi said.
They talked about implementing 15 per cent reservation on the basis of religion and said it will be done after curtailing the quota of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, he added.
In its 2009 manifesto, Congress’s intention was the same and in the 2014 manifesto, it clearly said it will not leave this issue, the prime minister said.
The Congress wanted to change the Constitution and hand over rights of the SCs, STs and OBCs to its vote bank, he said.
The intention of the Congress is not good, it is not according to the Constitution, social justice and secularism. If anyone can protect your reservation, it is the BJP, Modi said.
“The Congress’s eyes are not only on your reservation, but also on your earnings, your houses, shops and farms. The ‘shehzada’ of Congress (apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi) says they will conduct an X-ray of the property of every house and every family in the country. The Congress will snatch all these from you and they say that they will equally distribute them,” he said.
Do you know to whom they will distribute it after “looting” it from you? Modi asked, to which the people replied in affirmative.
Cong wants to
“I need not to tell you to whom they will distribute,” he added.
Modi further said the “dangerous intentions” of Congress are coming to forth one by one and now it says it will impose inheritance tax.
“The advisor of shehzada of the shahi parivar, who was also the advisor to the shehzada’s father, had said that more tax should be imposed on the middle class and those who earn by toiling hard. Now the Congress says it will impose inheritance tax. It will impose tax on the assets inherited by people from their parents. Now, the panja (Congress poll symbol) will snatch the assets from your children,” he said without taking any name.
The Congress’ mantra is “loot of Congress zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi”, he said.
“They (Congress) want to snatch your assets and rights of your children,” Modi added.
The PM also said he had come to seek people’s blessings for a developed Chhattisgarh and a developed India.
Amid a political slugfest over Congress’s ‘wealth redistribution’ poll promise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the remarks made by Congress’d Sam Pitroda advocating an ‘inheritance tax’ like law saying that the Congress does not want the countrymen to pass on their property to their children.
“The royal family’s prince’s advisor has said that more taxes should be imposed on the middle class. Now these people have gone one step further than this, Congress says that it will impose an Inheritance Tax, and it will also impose tax on the inheritance received from parents. The property you have accumulated through your hard work will not be given to your children,” the Prime Minister said at an election rally in Surguja.
Prime Minister said that the mantra of the Congress is “Loot zindagi ke sath bhi zindagi ke baad bhi” (Loot, during the lifetime and afterwards). “The claws of Congress will snatch that too from you. As long as you are alive, Congress will impose higher taxes and when you are no longer alive, it will burden you with Inheritance Tax. Those people who considered the entire Congress party as their ancestral property and handed it over to their children, now do not want Indians to pass on their property to their children,” he said.
After the comments snowballed into a controversy Pitroda sought to downplay the issue saying he had only cited inheritance tax in the US as an example. “Who said 55 per cent will be taken away? Who said something like this should be done in India? Why are BJP and the media in panic? I mentioned US inheritance tax in the US only as an example in my normal conversation on TV. Can I not mention facts? I said these are the kinds of issues people will have to discuss and debate. This has nothing to do with the policy of any party including Congress,” Pitroda said in his post on X.
The Congress officially has distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments saying that his remarks do not reflect the view of the party at all times. Continuing the attack on the Congress manifesto, the Prime Minister said that the opposition party has always planned to implement reservation on the basis of religion.
“When the Congress manifesto came out, I had said on the same day that the Congress manifesto had the stamp of the Muslim League on it. When the Constitution was being made, it was decided under the leadership of Baba Saheb Ambedkar that there would be no reservation on the basis of religion in India. But for the vote bank, Congress did not care about the words of these great men, did not care about the sanctity of the Constitution nor did it care about the words of Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” PM said.
“Years ago, Congress had tried to give reservation on the basis of religion in Andhra Pradesh. Then Congress planned to implement it all over the country. Congress said that reservation should be given to some people based on religion by stealing some part of the SC/ST and OBC quota,” he added.
He further said that “misgovernance by the Congress resulted towards the destruction of the country however BJP is taking strict action against terrorism and Naxalism”. He also took a jibe at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for shedding tears over the images 2008 Batla House encounter as stated by Salman Khurshid.
“Congress is supporting the people who spread violence and call them bravehearts. The biggest leader of this Congress sheds tears when terrorists are killed. Due to such actions, Congress has lost the trust of the country,” he said.
