Prime Minister Modi reiterated his claim that the Congress party plans to take property from citizens and allocate it to their “special group,” which he labeled as the party’s covert agenda for securing votes. This ongoing controversy was ignited by Modi’s comments about Congress’s wealth redistribution plans. Despite a formal complaint lodged by the Congress with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against Modi’s statements—particularly the claim that the redistribution targets Muslims—Modi has not backed down. Instead, he has stepped up his critique while campaigning.
Returning to Rajasthan on Monday, just two days after initially raising the issue there, Modi highlighted a portion of his earlier speech that had sparked a reaction from Congress.
The Prime Minister emphasized that his accusations were based on a public statement made by Rahul Gandhi on April 6, during the launch of their manifesto, where Gandhi seemed to endorse the idea of wealth redistribution.
Moreover, Modi intensified his attacks by linking these allegations to previous Congress initiatives for Muslim reservations. He argued that Congress’s efforts from 2004 to 2010 in Andhra Pradesh to trial Muslim reservations, with intentions for a broader rollout, were blocked by the Supreme Court.
Modi also criticized the Congress’s proposal to reserve a part of SC-ST quotas for Muslims, calling it unconstitutional and unfairly advantageous to one group.
The Prime Minister emphasised that reservation for backward communities would not be abolished nor redistributed based on religion. He said that this was his promise from an open stage.
The controversy surrounding the ‘Wealth Redistribution’ initiative continues to escalate, as senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath demand clarity from the Congress regarding the proposed exercise and the nature of the promised ‘financial and institutional survey’ mentioned by Rahul Gandhi.Meanwhile, the Congress is awaiting action from the Election Commission, raising concerns about the poll body’s “independence and autonomy”. Additionally, the party intends to present copies of its manifesto to the Prime Minister.
