New Delhi:

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday jumped into the bitter fight between the BJP and the Congress that was triggered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about Muslims, and claims of “wealth redistribution… to those who have the most children… to infiltrators”.

At a rally in Hyderabad on Sunday, Mr Owaisi hit back at the Prime Minister’s “those who have the most children” remark by declaring “Muslims use condoms most” and took a jibe at the ruling party’s ‘Modi ki guarantee’ tagline, saying, “(the PM) has only one guarantee… hate Dalits and Muslims.”

“Why are you creating fear that Muslims produce more children? According to data from the Modi government, the population growth and fertility among Muslims has decreased. Muslims use condoms most, and I have no shame in saying this…” Mr Owaisi thundered.

‣ @narendramodi की एक ही गारंटी है, दलितों और मुसलमानों से नफ़रत करो।

‣ एक मुल्क का वज़ीर-ए-आज़म इस मुल्क की 15 फ़ीसद अवाम को घुसपैठिया कहता है, इससे शर्मनाक बात कुछ और नहीं हो सकती। pic.twitter.com/87mIdAfiAi

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 27, 2024

“Narendra Modi is instilling fear among Hindus that Muslims will become majority community. How long will you create fear about the Muslims? Our religion is different but we belong to this country.”

Neither the BJP nor the Prime Minister have, so far, responded.

The fierce fight between the BJP and the Congress, as well as opposition parties allied to the INDIA bloc, erupted after Mr Modi’s remark this month at an election rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara.

Referring to plans in the Congress’ manifesto for an “economic and institutional report” as part of the national caste survey, and combining that with a remark by his predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh, the PM said, “Congress says they will calculate gold with mothers and sisters… and distribute that property…. Manmohan Singh’s government said Muslims have first right on all resources…”

READ | Row After PM Says “Congress To Distribute Assets Among Infiltrators”

“… to whom will this be distributed? It will be distributed among those who have more children. It will be distributed to infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators?” he said.

NDTV FACT CHECK | Has Congress Really Promised ‘Wealth Redistribution’?

Mr Modi’s remarks provoked an angry response from the Congress, which accused Mr Modi of lying to divert voters’ attention from genuine issues. The party pointed out its manifesto made no such claim, and Rahul Gandhi later explained that the survey and its components were an “important step” in understanding how sections of the society had developed and what is needed to ensure equality.

READ | “Have Not Said…”: Rahul On “Wealth Redistribution” Row, PM’s Jabs

The party also complained to the Election Commission. A notice was sent to BJP chief JP Nadda – and his Congress counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge, after a complaint was filed against Mr Gandhi.

In a significant move, both party chiefs were told to ensure their campaigners followed guidelines for a “higher quality of political discourse”. They were told to file responses by 11 am this morning.

READ | BJP Gets Notice In Delhi, PM’s Inheritance Tax Jibe In Madhya Pradesh

The AIMIM boss is contesting the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in this election, which has been a stronghold of his family since 1984, when his father, Salahuddin Owaisi won it off the Congress.

In 2019 he secured over 60 per cent of the votes but could face a stronger test this time, particularly from the BJP’s Madhavi Latha. The two went head-to-head earlier this month after a video seemed to show the BJP leader – decked in saffron and garlanded with yellow flowers – pretending to draw and fire an arrow during a Ram Navami procession/campaign rally near a mosque.

READ | “Where Did Mosque Come From?”: BJP Candidate On “Imaginary Arrow”

Mr Owaisi slammed the “vulgar, obscene, and provocative” action, while Ms Latha claimed the video was “incomplete” and being circulated online “to create negativity”. “… if anyone’s feelings are hurt due to such a video, I would like to apologise…” she said on X (formerly Twitter). A police case was file. She hit back last week, accusing her rival of inciting people by discussing “religion and beef”.

Hyderabad will vote with the rest of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on May 13. Results are on June 4. 

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New Delhi:

Hitting back at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their claims that his party intends to redistribute wealth and that even women’s ‘mangalsutras’ were under threat, Congress leader P Chidambaram has challenged them to show even one mention of any such promise in the manifesto. 

Mr Chidambaram also said such claims were possibly being made because his party’s manifesto was a well-considered one while the BJP’s was a document of cult worship. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Wednesday, the head of Congress’ manifesto committee, said, “All that the BJP has been saying for the past three or four days, especially from the Prime Minister downwards, is absolute rubbish. Show me one word called redistribution anywhere in the manifesto, which runs to 45 pages. Show me the phrase ‘ redistribute the wealth’ anywhere. Unless they are reading a manifesto written by ghosts, hired by the BJP, in invisible ink; it’s not in our manifesto.”

To a question on Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Overseas Congress, stirring up a controversy by terming the inheritance law in the US “interesting”, the former finance minister only said that it does not appear in the manifesto and that he himself had not spoken about it. 

‘Completely Imaginary’

On the PM’s claim that the Congress planned to give reservation to Muslims at the expense of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, Mr Chidambaram said, “Where is that in the manifesto? All the statements made by the BJP leaders in the last four days are completely imaginary. They must show where this is in the manifesto. I have been challenging them publicly.”

The former finance minister asserted that the Congress has done its math and is confident that every promise made in its manifesto can be fulfilled over the term of a government.

“Last time, when we said we would waive agricultural loans, we were ridiculed and told that there is no money, but our government waived such loans to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore. When we started the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, we were again asked, ‘Where is the money?’, but we implemented it and the BJP has continued it. We found the money for it, and so has the BJP,” he said.

Emphasising that the Congress manifesto, which promises justice to different sections of society, is being talked about across the country, he said the BJP’s document is not even a manifesto but is called ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’.

“In fact, the entire document is cult worship. They have nothing comparable to our programme, our promises. Our manifesto has become the talking point throughout India. Unfortunately, the BJP’s ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ vanished without a trace in about two hours. Therefore, they are inventing imaginary stories and attacking us,” he said. 
 

New Delhi:

A huge political row has broken out over senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that this was a sign that the party, if voted to power, will redistribute the wealth of Indians. Mr Pitroda’s example of an inheritance tax in the US added fuel to the fire that the Congress has been trying to douse since Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue at a rally two days ago.

While Congress distanced itself from the remarks, Mr Pitroda also issued a clarification today saying that he was just expressing his views on the inheritance tax in the US.

“It is unfortunate that what I said as an individual on inheritance tax in the US is twisted to divert attention from what lies PM is spreading about Congress manifesto,” Mr Pitroda said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The BJP has targeted the Congress claiming that the party’s manifesto promises to seize and redistribute the wealth of Indians, a charge it denies.

“This is what the Congress manifesto says. They will take stock of the gold that (our) mothers and sisters have, they will count and assess it, and then they will distribute that wealth, and they will give it to those people that Dr Manmohan Singh’s government had said – that Muslims have the first right to the nation’s wealth,” PM Modi said.

Does the Congress manifesto promise to redistribute wealth?  

In its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress makes several statements regarding income inequality, India’s wealth, people belonging to economically weak sections, and the allocation of government land and resources.

“Congress will conduct a nationwide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. Based on the data, we will strengthen the agenda for affirmative action,” says one of the points in the manifesto, called the ‘Nyay Patra’.

In another point, the Congress says “The economic empowerment of minorities is a necessary step for India to realise its full potential. We will ensure that banks will provide institutional credit to minorities without discrimination.”

But nowhere in their manifesto does the Congress claim that it will seize the wealth from the rich and distribute it among the poor. The party has promised a caste census to gather data, and accordingly implement affirmative action policy. Rahul Gandhi has called the census an ‘X-ray’ of India which the party believes will aid them in policy making.

The party’s manifesto adds that it will “address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policies.”

The manifesto also mentions “first charge” on resources in a point under the ‘Welfare’ section. It mentions that India has “nearly 22 crore people who are poor,” and under their governance, “the welfare of the poor will be the first charge on all government resources.” But it makes no statements regarding surveying gold owned by Indian women or about restributing the ‘surveyed’ wea

What Did Sam Pitroda Say

Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, said that India should discuss bringing a policy similar to the inheritance tax where the government takes 55 per cent of a person’s wealth after his death.

“If a person has property worth US dollars 10 million, then after his death, 45 per cent of the property goes to his children and 55 per cent of the property goes to the government,” Mr Pitroda told ANI and added that there is no such law in India.

“Such issues should be discussed. We are talking about policies that are in the interest of the people, not just the rich,” he added.

#WATCH | Chicago, US: Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda says, “…This is a policy issue. Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better…We don’t have a minimum wage (in India)…If we come up with a minimum wage in the… pic.twitter.com/PO6Mnili5p

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2024

It is worth pointing out that the US does not have a federal inheritance tax. In some states, such as Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, inherited assets are taxed. The payable tax depends on the amount of the inheritance and the relationship to the dead. This tax is only applied above a certain threshold and can go up to nearly 20 per cent of the inheritance.

What The Congress Say

Several Congress leaders have come out and clarified that there are no plans of ‘seizing and redistributing’ wealth if they are voted to power in the 2024 elections. The party has also filed a complaint with the Election Commission, highlighting PM Modi’s speech.  

But Sam Pitroda’s recent remarks have forced the party into firefighting mode saying that the comments do not reflect the party’s policies

“Mr. Pitroda’s views always reflect the position of the Indian National Congress. Many times they do not,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

Sam Pitroda has been a mentor, friend, philosopher, and guide to many across the world, including me. He has made numerous, enduring contributions to India’s developments. He is President of the Indian Overseas Congress.

Mr Pitroda expresses his opinions freely on issues he…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 24, 2024

BJP’s Fresh Attack

Leading the BJP’s attack over senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today alleged that the Opposition party plans to tax inheritance passed down from parents to their children.

Addressing a poll rally at Chhattisgarh’s Surguja, the Prime Minister said the Congress’s “dangerous intentions are coming out in the open”.

“The wealth you accumulate with your hard work won’t pass down to your children. The Congress’s hand will snatch it. The Congress’s mantra is ‘loot during your lifetime, loot after your death’,” PM Modi said.