New Delhi:
Union minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress on Saturday morning – a day after the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections – and alleged that “foreign forces” were involved in preparing the opposition party's poll manifesto.
“In the Congress Manifesto, along with the hand of Congress, are also visible the hands of foreign forces who want to give your children's properties to Muslims, denude the country's nuclear weapons, divide the nation on the basis of casteism and regionalism ” said Thakur. a meeting in Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.
“The tukde-tukde gang has completely surrounded the Congress and hijacked their ideology. You have to decide whether the children's property should stay with them or go to Muslims. We have given all rights to Muslims, equally. But we didn't give it. based on religion, we gave it because it was their right,” he added.
#WATCH | Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh: Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, “In the Congress manifesto, along with the hand of Congress, the hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children's property to Muslims, want the country's nuclear weapons want to finish, divide the countries… pic.twitter.com/3dxJE6avvz
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2024
The attack follows fierce arguments between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top opposition leaders over claims that the Congress will take over Indians' wealth and distribute it to Muslims. Addressing rallies in Rajasthan's Tonk and Madhya Pradesh's Sagar, the Prime Minister claimed that the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government had said that Muslims have the first right to the country's wealth.
The comments have sparked a huge row, with one section criticizing the Prime Minister for using phrases like 'infiltrators' for Muslims, and another section criticizing Dr. Singh for his alleged comments.
In a five-minute video message posted on the BJP's “to redistribute wealth to infiltrators” – and said: “Congress says Muslims have first right to the country's resources, while Prime Minister Modi says poor people should have first right…”
“BJP does not want Muslims to be neglected… but they should not get undue advantage at the expense of others,” Mr Nadda stated, while criticizing the Congress for “appeasement politics” and claiming that such practices were evident in his manifesto – that the prime minister a “print of the Muslim League”.
The comments by Mr Thakur and Mr Nadda come just days after the Election Commission issued a notice to the party based on a Congress complaint against the Prime Minister, alleging that he was creating division during his speech in Rajasthan. The announcement stated – in a major first – that party bosses would be held accountable for violations of the model code in campaign speeches and materials.
The poll panel sent an almost identical message to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after the BJP filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he had made “unpleasant statements” against Mr Modi.
In a two-page statement – which named neither the Prime Minister nor Mr Gandhi but included copies of the complaints – the poll body said that “'star campaigners' are expected to contribute to higher quality of discourse… which sometimes distorted in the heat of competitions at local level”.