Narendra Modi’s election speech accused of spreading hatred against Muslims

India’s opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making “Islamophobic” remarks in an election speech in Rajasthan on Sunday.

In that speech Mr. Modi claimed that if the opposition wins the elections and comes to power in the country, the wealth of the common man will be distributed among the ‘infiltrators’.

Addressing a rally in Rajasthan, Narendra Modi also said that the opposition Congress wants to divide the country’s wealth among those who have more children.

It is believed that he was referring to the Muslim community in India through this comment.

Incidentally, the Prime Minister made these comments just two days before India’s protracted election process began.

India’s main opposition Congress almost immediately refuted his statement.

Narendra Modi’s party, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been accused of targeting the country’s religious minorities, especially Muslims, many times in the past.

Human rights groups in the country have repeatedly said that India’s Muslims are being discriminated against and persecuted under Narendra Modi’s regime, and that they are virtually being forced to live as ‘second-class citizens’ within the country.

The BJP, however, has categorically denied such allegations.

Meanwhile, the process of voting in the Indian parliamentary elections has started from 19th April, which will continue in seven phases till 1st June. Then on June 4, the counting of votes across the country will be held simultaneously.

Prime Minister Modi made the controversial remarks while addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on Sunday (April 21st). Voting in that area of ​​Rajasthan will be held next Friday (April 26).

In his speech, he brought up the issue of the election manifesto released by the opposition Congress party.

The Prime Minister complained that the Congress manifesto said that the women of India, who have kept gold or ornaments in their homes for a long time, would “take account” of them when they come to power and arrange their distribution afresh.

He said at the same time, “And their (Congress) previous government said that Muslims will have the first right on the wealth of the country!”

“This means that the Congress will extort gold and wealth from the common people. Then among whom will they be distributed?”, he asked the audience present at the meeting.

Then he answered the question himself and said, “You will distribute it among those who have more children.” will distribute among intruders.”

“Now you tell me whether your hard-earned money or wealth should be distributed among intruders like this?” said Mr. Modi.

Narendra Modi in his speech referred to the promise of the previous Congress government, which was actually a speech given by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh eighteen years ago.

In 2006, during the Congress-led UPA-1 government, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a speech that it was important to empower religious minorities – so that they too could share the benefits of development.

Top Congress leaders say that Prime Minister Modi has distorted the speech of Manmohan Singh.

In the words of a member of the working committee of the party, “Manmohanji never said that the wealth of Hindus should be taken away and distributed among the Muslims of India.” But they are trying to put those words in his mouth.”

The senior Congress leader also told the BBC, “The Prime Minister’s speech is not only a hate speech, but I would say it also falls into the category of ‘fake news’ because he deliberately distorted the information.”

There is a tendency to stereotype the Muslim community in India as ‘too many children’.

However, many experts in the past have said that this claim is highly ‘distorted’ and that Muslims in India face injustice.

Major leaders of India’s opposition political parties almost unanimously condemned the Prime Minister’s statement.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge strongly advocated for his party’s manifesto saying, “Our election manifesto or ‘Sankalpatra’ is for every Indian.”

He also claimed that the Congress manifesto speaks for equality and justice for all citizens.

He also commented that Prime Minister Modi is giving such hate speech ‘out of fear’.

Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The opposition has done much better than the BJP in the first phase of the election, and the Prime Minister is now trying to divert people’s attention.”

“No one else in the history of India has done it the way Modiji has done away with the dignity of the Prime Minister,” the Congress president added.

Asaduddin Waisi, outgoing Hyderabad MP and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) party, commented, “Modi today described Muslims in this country as intruders and parents of more and more children.”

He added, “Since 2002, there has been only one ‘Modi guarantee’ – abuse Muslims and get votes!”

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale also termed Prime Minister Modi’s comments as ‘hateful and divisive’ against the Muslim community.

Against that speech, the common people of the country filed a complaint with the election authorities, Mr. Gokhale also made that call.

There has been no response from the BJP as a party or from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in response to this sharp criticism of the opposition.

But significantly, the controversial part has not been placed on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal website where the scripts of all his election speeches are being uploaded.

The site provides a summary of Narendra Modi’s speech at a public meeting in Rajasthan in English – but carefully avoids the words ‘Muslim’, ‘infiltrator’ or ‘those who have too many babies’.

This suggests that the Prime Minister’s advisers or the BJP’s election strategists may have sensed that a ‘line’ had been crossed in the speech and are now trying to do some ‘damage control’.

Even India’s National Election Commission – which oversees the country’s entire electoral process – has refused to comment on the controversial speech.

Many political leaders, activists and social workers in India posted the video of that part of the Prime Minister’s speech on social media and tried to get their attention by tagging the National Election Commission in it.

But at least till Monday evening the Election Commission is completely silent on this matter, they have not yet commented on it.