In an undisguised resort to sectarian polarisation after the first round of polling, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged the Congress’s poll manifesto had pledged to “survey” and “attach” citizens’ properties and distribute them disproportionately among Muslims, “jinke zyada bachchhe hain” (who have more children).
The Congress manifesto nowhere talks of surveying and attaching properties. Modi seemed to be alluding to a section on “Wealth” in the Congress document that talks of addressing “rising inequality between the rich on the one hand and the poor and middle class on the other” with suitable policy measures.
Modi alleged that even the “mangalsutras” of “mothers and sisters” would be confiscated and distributed among “Musalmaanon” (Muslims).
His comments seemed a sharper attempt at polarisation than during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, when he said that if a “kabristan” (graveyard) was built, a “shamshan” (cremation ground) must be built too.
At Sunday’s election rally in Banswara, Rajasthan, Modi went on to allege that the Congress manifesto had been inspired by “Maoism” and that the party was fully in the grip of “urban Naxals”.
“Congress urban Naxal ke changul me chala gaya hai. Congress ne jo apne manifesto me kaha hai wo chintajanak hai, gambhir hai. Aur ye Maowad ki soch ko dharti utarne ki unki koshish hai (The Congress is in the grip of urban Naxals. What the Congress has said in its manifesto is serious and a matter of concern. It’s an effort to implement the Maoist ideology),” he said.
“Unhone kaha hai ki agar Congress ki sarkar banegi to harek ke property ka survey kiya jaayega. Hamari behno ke paas sona kitna hai, uski jaanch ki jaayegi, uska hisab lagaya jaayega. Hamare Adivasi parivaron me chandi hoti hai. Silver kitna hai uska hisab lagaya jaayega. Sarkari mulazimon ke paas kitna kya hai uski jaanch ki jaayegi.”
A translation: “They have said that if the Congress forms the government, the properties owned by every citizen would be surveyed. How much gold our sisters have will be probed and evaluated. Our tribal families own silver and that too will be evaluated. What government officials have will also be investigated.”
Modi continued: “Itna hi nahi, aage kya kaha hai. Ye jo gold hai behno ka, aur jo sampatti hai, ye sabko samaan roop se vitrit ki jaayegi. Kya ye aapko manzoor hai? Aapki sampatti sarkar ko aithne ka haq hai kya? Kya aapki mehnat kar kamai hui sampatti ko sarkar ko aithne ka adhikar hai kya.”
A translation: “That’s not all, let’s see what it says further. The gold our sisters have, and their other properties, will all be equally distributed. Is this acceptable to you? Should the government have the right to confiscate property that you have earned through hard work?”
“Mere mataon, behno ki zindagi mein sona wo siraf show karne ke liye nahi hota hai. Wo swabhiman se juda hua hota hai. Uska mangalsutra, koi sone ke kimat ka mudda nahi hai, uske jivan ke sapno se juda hua hai. Tum use chhinne ki baat kar rahe ho. Apne manifesto mein, gold le lenge aur sabme vitrit kar denge (For my mothers and sisters, gold is not for show. It’s attached to their dignity. Their mangalsutras are not a matter of the value of gold, it’s linked to their dreams. And you are talking of taking that away. In your manifesto, you talk of confiscating the gold and distributing it).”
Modi claimed that the government of Manmohan Singh had said that Muslims had the first right over the country’s resources.
“Pehle jab unki sarkar thhi tab unhone kaha thha ki desh ki sampatti par pehela adhikar Musalmaanon ka hai. Iska matlab, ye sampatti ekattha karke kisko baatenge? Jinke zyada bachhe hain unko baatenge, ghuspaithiyon ko batenge (When they were in power, they said Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources. So, among whom will they distribute all this attached property? They will distribute it among those who have more children. They will distribute among the infiltrators),” he said.
“Kya aapki mehnat ki kamai ka paisa, ghuspaithiyon ko diya jaayega? Aapko manzoor hai ye? Ye Congress ka manifesto keh raha hai, ki wo mataon, behno ke sone ka hisab karenge, uski jaankari lenge aur phir us sampatti ko baant denge. Aur unko baatenge jinki Manmohan Singhji ki sarkar ne kaha tha ki sampatti par pehla adhikar Musalmaanon ka hai. Bhaion behno, ye urban Naxal ki soch, mere mataon behno, ye aapka mangalsutra bhi bachne nahi denge,” he said.
(“Should your hard-earned money be distributed among infiltrators? This is what the Congress manifesto says, that they will evaluate the gold owned by mothers and sisters, attach them and distribute them. And they will distribute them among those who the Manmohan Singh government had said have the first right over the country’s resources. Brothers and sisters, this is urban Naxal thinking; mothers and sisters, they will not spare even your mangalsutras.)
The crowd gave a huge roar.
In 2006, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said: “We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources.”
Following Modi’s speech at Jalore, the Congress has objected sharply and many have suggested it should attract action from the Election Commission for brazenly invoking religion.