Modi’s Raj rally remarks spark political firestorm
A massive political row erupted on Monday as Opposition leaders from across parties — including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge — targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for comments that he made in a public rally on Sunday, suggesting that the Congress intended to redistribute public wealth to Muslims.
Kharge described Modi’s comments as “hate speech”, and said that he had “lowered the dignity of political discourse”.
The Congress complaint highlighted one part of Modi’s speech in which he said: “When they (Congress) were in power earlier, they said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources. So, who will they redistribute resources to? Those who have more children. Those who are infiltrators. Will your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Will you accept that? The Congress manifesto says they will take stock of the gold owned by our mothers and sisters, and then they will redistribute that wealth. And distribute it to those who, according to the Manmohan Singh government, have the first right on resources — Muslims. This is Urban Naxal thinking, and mothers and sisters, they will not even spare your Mangalsutra. They will stoop to this level.”
“Today Modi ji’s panic-filled speech showed that INDIA is winning in the first phase results. What Modi ji said is not only a hate speech but also a well thought out ploy to divert attention... The 140 crore people of the country are no longer going to fall prey to this lie. Our manifesto is for every Indian. It talks about equality for all. It talks about justice for all. The judiciary of the Congress is based on the foundation of truth, but it seems that the throne of the dictator in the form of Goebbels is now shaking. In the history of India, no Prime Minister has lowered the dignity of his post as much as Modiji has,” Kharge said on X.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) declined comment on Modi’s speech, which the Congress said violates several sections of the Indian Penal Code and also the Model Code of Conduct, and has prompted a flurry of complaints to the poll panel.
Modi himself struck a more conciliatory note on Monday in Aligarh, and said: “The Congress ‘shahzade’ (prince) says if his government comes, they will investigate who earns how much and how much property they have. Not only this, he further says the government will take over the property and redistribute it. This is what their election manifesto is saying.”
However, Union home minister Amit Shah, in a rally in Kanker, Chhattisgarh, reiterated Modi’s Sunday comments, sharply targeting the Congress. “Congress says that the first right over resources belongs to minorities; we say that the first right belongs to the poor, the tribes, and Dalits,” he said, according to a statement from his office. A Congress delegation, led by Manu Abhishek Singhvi, submitted to ECI that Modi’s speech was “illegal”, and accused the BJP of repeatedly using religious iconography in its Lok Sabha campaign.
CHANDIGARH Chief minister Bhagwant Mann is on the road in Punjab, addressing public meetings and holding road shows to garner support for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates for the parliamentary elections, even as rival parties, particularly the Congress, are still to finalise their candidates for several constituencies.
Mann hit the campaign trail last week after introducing all 13 Lok Sabha nominees to party workers and telling them he would go to each parliamentary constituency 3-4 times. The party was first off the blocks with the announcement of eight candidates on March 14 and completed its line-up a week ago.
The rival parties, on the other hand, are still in the process of naming their candidates for the four-way fight in the state. The Congress has declared its candidates for eight seats, two of them on Monday.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which released its first list of seven candidates on April 13, also released the names of its nominees for five constituencies on Monday, taking the total to 12.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced nine candidates so far.
Campaign themes: Kejriwal’s arrest, govt’s achievements
The AAP is already in full-on campaign mode on the ground and in the digital arena, with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s incarceration and the state government’s achievements being the focal points. The party is trying to leverage its national convener’s arrest to galvanise the party cadres and project itself as the main challenger of the BJP in the fight to “Save the Constitution.”
It is also pushing campaigns like ‘Jail da jawab vote’ and ‘Modi ka sabse bada dar Kejriwal’ on social media, using memes, short video clips, photos, and posts with stinging captions and hashtags.
The poll campaign’s other central theme focuses on the fulfilment of the 2022 state election guarantees with 300 units of free power, 43,000 government jobs, free treatment at 800 Aam Aadmi Clinics, development of Schools of Eminence, freeing up of toll plazas and anti-corruption campaign.
AAP’s Anandpur Sahib candidate Malvinder Singh Kang, who started his campaign immediately after his candidature was announced on April 2, said it is going full steam ahead. “We have already held meetings with the party volunteers of all nine assembly segments in the constituency, and I am now campaigning in big villages and also holding rallies to mobilise youths,” said the party’s state chief spokesperson.
The Congress and BJP are still to declare their candidates from Anandpur Sahib, while the SAD has fielded former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra.
The early announcement of candidates also comes with its share of challenges, said a party candidate, who did not want to be named. “There is still a lot of time left for the election. I have started campaigning, but polling in Punjab will take place in the seventh and final phase on June 1. We still have 40 days. I am not sure how I am going to sustain it. There is also the issue of funding,” he said.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa also recently denied any delay in the announcement of candidates, stating that both the AAP and BJP have deep pockets. “No campaign can last more than 20 days unless you have huge money,” he said.