‘Hate speech’: Modi’s remarks drew ire of Opposition parties

NEW DELHI: In a stinging reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech during election rallies in Rajasthan, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday claimed Modi’s speech was “a well thought out ploy to divert attention.”
“What Modi ji said is not only hate speech but also a well thought out ploy to divert attention. Today the Prime Minister did what he has learnt from the values of the Sangh.
“Lying for power, making baseless references and making false accusations on opponents is the specialty of the training of RSS and BJP. The 140 crore people of the country are no longer going to fall prey to this lie,” the Congress president said.
Earlier on Sunday, the prime minister, while addressing a rally in Rajasthan, alleged that “the Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, get information about it, and then distribute that property. They will distribute it to whom – Manmohan Singh’s government had said Muslims have the first right on the country’s assets.”
“Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s assets. This means to whom will this property be distributed? It will be distributed among those who have more children. It will be distributed to the infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?” the PM added.
In response, Kharge said that Modi’s “panic-filled” speech showed that INDIA is winning in the first phase results.
“Today Modi ji’s panic-filled speech showed that INDIA is winning in the first phase results,” he added.
Sharing the Congress’ latest advertisement that focuses on rising prices and unemployment on Monday, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, “Unemployment and inflation are at their peak in the country and Narendra Modi says ‘everything is fine’.”
“He (Modi) has several new techniques to ‘divert from the issues’, But the end of the business of lies is near,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also stepped up his attack on the prime minister.
“The Prime Minister speaks in a poisonous language on a whole lot of issues. He should also answer a simple question – Since 1951, census has been conducted every ten years. This reveals the actual data of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population. This should have been done in 2021 but has not been done till date. Why is the Prime Minister silent on this?” Ramesh said.
This is a conspiracy to destroy the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Ramesh alleged.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor termed the speech “disgraceful” and a “nakedly communal appeal” which “normally any civilised Election Commission would disallow and warn the candidate for speaking like this.”
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also hit out at the prime minister, saying the only guarantee Modi has given since 2002 is to abuse Muslims.
“Modi today called Muslims infiltrators and people with many children. Since 2002 till this day, the only Modi guarantee has been to abuse Muslims and get votes. If one is talking about the country’s wealth, one should know that under Modi’s rule the first right to India’s wealth has been of his wealthy friends. 1% of Indians own 40% of the country’s wealth. Common Hindus are made to fear Muslims while their wealth is being used to enrich others,” Owaisi said in a post on X.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut termed as “disheartening” the comments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims.
Asked about the comments, Raut said it is “disheartening” when a senior leader like PM Modi makes such comments.
“He even talked about mangalsutra (sacred thread worn around neck by women). It means he is completely disillusioned and is going to lose this election,” the Rajya Sabha member claimed.
“The possibility of electoral loss bothers him, and that is why such language…how can individuals having a certain number of kids be a campaign issue?” he said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also asked why PM Modi has not discussed his government’s performance over the last 10 years.
The PM has not outlined his future plans if he returns to power, Raut claimed.
Former Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal asked whether 20 crore people in the country mattered to PM Modi or not, urging the Election Commission to take immediate action.
“Politics has stooped down to such a level and it has not happened in history and I do not want it to happen. I want to ask a question to the Election Commission why action was not taken immediately. You (EC) should condemn it and a notice should be given to PM Modi,” Sibal said.
Agencies