India’s Modi accused of using hate speech against Muslims
At a campaign rally, the prime minister warns that opponents will distribute wealth among ‘infiltrators.’
NEW DELHI — India’s main opposition party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators” — among his most incendiary rhetoric about the minority faith — days after the country began its weeks-long general election.
The remarks at a campaign rally Sunday drew fierce criticism. The Congress Party filed a complaint Monday with the Election Commission of India, alleging that Modi broke rules barring candidates from engaging in activity that aggravates religious tensions.
Critics of the prime minister — an avowed Hindu nationalist — say India’s tradition of diversity and secularism has come under attack since his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, won power a decade ago. They accuse the party of fostering religious intolerance and, at times, violence. The party denies the accusations and says its policies benefit all Indians.
At a rally in the state of Rajasthan, Modi said that when the Congress Party was in government, “they said Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources.” If it returns to power, the party “will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children,” he said as the crowd applauded. “They will distribute it among infiltrators,” Modi continued. “Do you think your hardearned money should be given to infiltrators?”
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress Party’s president, described the comments as “hate speech.” Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi called them “deeply, deeply objectionable.”
The party sought action from the election commission, whose code of conduct forbids candidates from appealing “to caste or communal feelings” to secure votes.
The first votes were cast Friday in the six-week election, which Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP are expected to win, according to most surveys. The results come out June 4.
Asaduddin Owaidi, a Muslim lawmaker, said Sunday: “Since 2002 till this day, the only Modi guarantee has been to abuse Muslims and get votes.”
While there have long been tensions between the majority Hindu community and Muslims, attacks against minorities have become more brazen under Modi, rights groups say.
Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cows, considered holy to Hindus. Muslim businesses have been boycotted, homes and businesses bulldozed and places of worship set on fire. There have been open calls for genocide.
Modi’s remarks referred to a 2006 statement by thenPrime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party.
Singh said India’s lower castes, tribes, women and “in particular the Muslim minority” deserved to share in the country’s development equally.
“They must have the first claim on resources,” Singh said. A day later, his office clarified that he was referring to all of the disadvantaged groups.
In its petition to the election commission, the Congress Party said Modi and the BJP have used religion and religious symbols and sentiments in their election campaign with impunity.
“These actions have been further bolstered by the commission’s inaction in penalizing the prime minister and the BJP for their blatant violations of electoral laws,” it said.
“In the history of India, no prime minister has lowered the dignity of his post as much as Modi has,” Kharge wrote on X.
The commission can issue warnings and suspend candidates for a certain amount of time over violations of the code of conduct.
A spokesperson for the commission declined to comment Monday to the Press Trust of India.
In his speech, Modi repeated a Hindu nationalist trope that Muslims are overtaking the population by having more children. Hindus make up 80% of India’s 1.4 billion people, and Muslims, 14%. Official data show that fertility rates among Muslims have dropped the fastest among religious groups in recent decades.
Modi’s BJP has previously referred to Muslims as infiltrators and cast them as illegal migrants who crossed into India from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Several states run by the BJP have made laws that restrict interfaith marriage, citing the conspiracy theory of “love jihad,” which claims that Muslim men use marriage to convert Hindu women.
Modi has largely stayed silent on those matters. Critics say that has emboldened his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.