The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, JP Nadda, has, in response to the Election Commission’s notice, justified Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements about the Congress Party planning to redistribute the public’s wealth to Muslims.
Nadda has, instead, urged the poll panel to act against the Congress party for its alleged denigration of Hinduism – India’s foundational religion, a report in the Indian Express said.
Also Read: ‘Didn’t mention Hindu or Muslim’: PM Modi ‘shocked’, clarifies ‘infiltrator’ remark
The response comes PM Modi saying during that a TV interview that he doesn’t do ‘Hindu-Muslim’ as a resolve and that he was “shocked” at people interpreting his “infiltrator” remark as against Muslims.
Nadda’s reply to the poll panel is in response to a notice served on him as the party president over alleged breach of the election Model Code of Conduct by PM Modi in his statements on Muslims. The notice was served based on complaints by the Congress, the CPI, and the CPI (M-L).
The complaint was about PM Modi’s speeches. On April 21, PM Modi, during an election rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara, claimed that based on earlier statements of Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the grand old party plans to redistribute people’s wealth among those who are infiltrators and who have more children, referring to Muslims.
Also Read: BJP ignores EC notice, JP Nadda echoes PM Modi’s remark, says ‘Congress plots to transfer SC-ST rights to Muslims’
The PM also said that the Congress manifesto said that they would take stock of the jewellery, including the Mangalsutra, of mothers and daughters and distribute it among Muslims. While Modi didn’t use the term Muslims in his April 21 speech, he, however, repeatedly alleged that Congress was going to redistribute people’s wealth among Muslims in his poll speeches later.
Nadda, in his response to EC, is reported to have accused the Congress, like the Muslim League, of trying to divide the country. This is in reference to PM Modi’s allegation that the Congress manifesto ‘Nyay Patra’ has a Muslim League imprint. The Muslim League was the original successor of the All-India Muslim League that was at the forefront of Pakistan becoming an independent nation. Five of Pakistan’s first Prime Ministers have been affiliated with this party.
Also Read: Congress alleges PM Modi’s ‘wealth to Muslims’ jab is ‘hate speech’. Here’s what the MCC say about this offence?
Nadda claimed that just as the Muslim League sowed the seeds of India’s Partition, Congress has attempted to divide the country’s south from its northern parts through economic non-cooperation and linguistic differences. Nadda has also accused the Congress of opposing the country’s foundational religion and its ancient culture, the Indian Express report said.
Nadda has also said that all PM speeches were based on facts and that the voters had a democratic right to understand Opposition’s motives.
In the TV interview on May 15, the PM said, “I have neither said Hindu or Muslim. I have said you should have as many children as you can support. Don’t create a situation where the government has to (support).”
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Published: 15 May 2024, 09:35 AM IST