New Delhi: Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nasty election speech in Rajasthan's Banswara has triggered a nationwide controversy, the Election Commission has so far not taken any action. Meanwhile the Opposition bloc INDIA called the speech an attempt to divert attention from "real issues".
Addressing the people Banswara, on April 21, (Sunday) Modi openly attacked India’s Muslims, suggesting they were “infiltrators” and went on to claim that the opposition if elected would give away “mangalsutras” and “land” of those listening to his speech to them (Muslims).
He referred to his immediate predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh who was in office for 10 years as prime minister till 2014, and said, “Earlier, when his government was in power, he had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s property, which means who will they collect this property and distribute it to – those who have more children, will distribute it to the infiltrators. Will the money of your hard work be given to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?”
Modi went on to say, “This Congress manifesto is saying that they will calculate the gold of the mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute it. Manmohan Singh’s government had said that Muslims have the first right on property. Brothers and sisters, these urban Naxal thoughts will not let even your mangalsutra escape, they will go this far.”
Narendra Modi and the BJP so far in their campaign trail have invoked religious faith, the Ram temple and Lord Ram multiple times, directly using it to call for people to vote for them. The Election Commission has been completely silent on the messaging via videos, tweets and other exhortations.
Did Manmohan Singh really say that?
Modi’s claim that Dr Singh said that is not new and was refuted in 2006 itself by Singh’s PMO, when Modi had first made the false claim. The PMO had termed such remarks, “a deliberate and mischievous misinterpretation of what the Prime Minister said here yesterday at the meeting of the National Development Council, on fiscal priorities of the government.” It was termed “an avoidable controversy has been generated. The Prime Minister’s observations have also been quoted out of context in some sections of the electronic media, fuelling a baseless controversy.”
The full text of the paragraph in which the Prime Minister referred to the issue of minority empowerment to clarify the matter is as follows:
“I believe our collective priorities are clear: agriculture, irrigation and water resources, health, education, critical investment in rural infrastructure, and the essential public investment needs of general infrastructure, along with programmes for the upliftment of SC/STs, other backward classes, minorities and women and children. The component plans for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will need to be revitalized. 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. The Centre has a myriad other responsibilities whose demands will have to be fitted within the over-all resource availability.”
The PMO’s clarification said. “it will be seen from the above that the Prime Minister’s reference to “first claim on resources” refers to all the “priority” areas listed above, including programmes for the upliftment of SCs, STs, OBCs, women and children and minorities.
Opposition reacts
Chairman, Media and Publicity department of the Congress, Pawan Khera said in a video message in a post, “We challenge the Prime Minister to show us if the word Hindu or Muslim is written anywhere in our manifesto. This kind of lightness is there in your mentality, in your political values. We have talked about justice for the youth, women, farmers, tribals, middle class and workers. Do you object to this as well?”
Khera was referring to earlier mistruths uttered by Modi about the “Muslim League” having influenced the Congress manifesto.
In Jharkhand’s Ranchi at an opposition rally, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is reported to have said by BBC Hindi, “If democracy and the Constitution end in the country, then the people will have nothing left. Babasaheb Ambedkar ji and Jawaharlal Nehru ji gave equal voting rights to everyone, due to which all classes got respect. But Narendra Modi wants to snatch their rights from the poor.”
B.V. Srinivas termed it as unfortunate that “this person is the Prime Minister of this country, and an even bigger tragedy is that the Election Commission of India is no longer alive.” He said that “due to the frustration of impending defeat, the Prime Minister of India is openly sowing the seeds of hatred, he is polarising by misquoting Manmohan Singh’s 18-year-old incomplete statement, But the Election Commission (Modi ka parivar) is bowing down.”
Modi’s past hate-speech
Modi, in his 12-year tenure as chief minister of Gujarat was known to have made speeches targeting the state’s minority Muslim community brazenly, terming camps where Muslims were forced to stay in after communal violence gripped the state in 2002. Frontline covered him on his Gujarat Gaurav Yatra started shortly after the violence, at a rally at Becharaji in Mehsana district in northern Gujarat, when he said, “What should we do? Run relief camps for them? Do we want to open baby-producing centres? But for certain people that means hum paanch, hamare pachees.”
In 2017 it was time again for direct speech targeting Muslims when in February he spoke of ‘shamshaan versus kabristan’ campaigning for UP and then for Gujarat elections when the BJP had its worst performance this millennium, in a speech at Palanpur on December 10, 2017 Modi invoked a “secret meeting” to get Pakistan to fix Gujarat’s assembly polls. He said that a meeting was held at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence, attended by former PM Manmohan Singh, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, former Army Chief Deepak Kapoor and distinguished diplomats to execute the plot. Modi’s PMO faced embarrassment when in response to an RTI filed by the Congress, his office was forced to say that Modi’s campaign speech could have been based on an “informal input”.
In the only question he has answered as part of a press conference with Joe Biden on June 22, 2023, Modi was asked, “India has long prided itself as the world’s largest democracy, but there are many human rights groups who say that your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics. As you stand here in the East Room of the White House, where so many world leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy, what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?”
In response Modi appeared visibly frazzled and denied all charges. “I’m actually really surprised that people say so. And so, people don’t say it. Indeed, India is a democracy.”
The journalist was trolled online by BJP leaders and supporters to such an extent that the White House had to come out and defend her and strongly denounce the trolling and abuse.
Comments
I was surprised with these people who run educational institutions since long, and the management not understand the rights of Muslims women, that is also simple wearing scarf as it is a moral and religious rightrs of muslim women,and girls, it covers the chastity and aura of a girl ,a mother , and as well all women, but why these nuns are discriminating with muslim community only, by the way why they cannot work without their scrafs inside school or college, Every muslim women is a spiritually religious to wear scraf or cover the chastity with the scarf ..complare to few nuns only wear scarfs since it is their religious rights.
I am asking the management of college to settle the matter peacefully .
No one is abusing her, but for the decision what she has taken is just showing her personality whether she is a angel or simply a common woman who is making a religious chaos between two Community. Respect each others community is what we learn from from Masjid and Church. But here this is going some other way.need to stop before the situation is worsened
I request all the muslim students to wear the same dress what the madam is wearing - problem solved..
Angle......... my foot!!!...if man can become angle then i would have been the first...
Shocked to read brainless comments from Muslims. Muslims cannot build an institution like St Agnes College in Mangalore. But they talk about their rights in Christian and Hindu managed colleges. What a tragedy. May Allah grant good sense to Muslims so that they realize their foolishness.
Never expected such a drity mind set opinion form a religious preacher. She can wear full hijab and Muslim students not permitted. It is well clear to understand what time of human being she is and what is her intention.
Check her passport how many times she visited isreal
Dear Management
When you are implementing any rule's, it should be such that you should be following it. If your principal herself is wearing then how ethical is that to stop the students wearing it.
Hijab is for to cover the modesty and not for exposing.!! Please respect each others propsective.
Sr Dr M Jeswina AC is not a divine woman. She is an angel. Those who mock her must be extremists or anti-social elements.
One more Threat for Indian Democracy by the Principal of St. Agnes College Mangalore, Sr Dr M Jeswina AC.
If the Principal can wear the Scarf, then why Shouldn’t the Students.
Again why its Double standard and what is the Method behind this policy.
Common, once again we all indian’s should BIGOT this policy of St Agnes College Mangalore.
i donno hu ur. but i felt ur comment on the issue of head scarf as funny. as hijab for men and women is farl or compulsory den u need to follow it. to be a citizen of a country u must follow the rules of that country. similarly if u want to be a muslim u need to follow the rules of islam. otherwise u r not called one.u can say that islam is in heart need not show in hijab. when imaan is in heart then definitly hijab will be der otherwise u need to check ur imaan not alter the rules of islam.
Principal Mam can wear fully covered headscarf. But students (muslim) can't...
Dear All
this is the height of hypochracy ..... she herself opt for it , and say you dont wear it ???// in Quran its mentioned ..''Do not preach unless you follow it ''
Dear Sister Dr. Jeswina
How can You prevent and take this decision being in a headscarf? Interestingly you preach this and practice proudly and roam around the world wearing such dress code which you and your institutions are opposing other community. May I ask you on behalf of society with all due respect to your valuable service to the education, what kind of justification you are putting forward to media and seeing students attend classes ignoring their constitutional demand. Dear Sister, will you implement and make it mandatory same rules for students who are wearing a similar dress which you are into? If not this approach will be called communalism or fascism (Sorry for using such words).
Dear Principal, Institutions are not at all allowed to restrict a students religious practice at any place inside the campus. In front of the constitution your college rules will fall down and your college rules should be modified. Look at the hypocrisy you are playing with the students. You will enter the class with your scarf on. And you want a particular community student to remove it? What kind of justice it is.No education institutions are even allowed to impose uniform system for students. We condemn your act. Just don't drag this issue more, please behave mature
Catholic run schools and colleges always do like this.
I am not sure whether there is male teacher in this college, if yes, then the women have right to observe hijab inside the classroom as well. No rules is bigger than the personal right guaranteed to individuals living in India. If this principal mam have right to observe her personal hijab inside her cabin, then Muslim women also should be given their rights.
easy solution, let Muslim students accepts the principal madam dress code, in this matter, let it teacher will be role model for students, accept it
dear college management and student,
as soon as i saw people discussing and sharing the views regarding the ban of women scarf in the college auditorium, i too wants to share some views and ideas related to this. as far as college rules and regulation is concern ban of scarf is acceptable. but if we follow the rules and regulation of my lord it is unacceptable.
student should first contact pricipal regarding whatever issues they. and it the liability of the management to solve the issue in favour of the student because whatever issue they are raising it is the issue to uplift the women rather degrading. hoping the maangemnt to solve the issue in favour of student.
In Islam, men have an obligation to God and to women to observe hijab. I imagine a conversation between someone teaching the Quran and a guy as follows:
Teacher: Don’t stare at women.
Guy: But she’s wearing revealing clothing!
Teacher: Why are you staring? Stop.
Guy: But it’s revealing.
Teacher: Why-are-you-staring?
Guy: Uh…
It’s that simple.
If a guy chooses to accept Islam, Islam says he must observe hijab. The Prophet Muhammad’s directives further affirm this view. He admonished men, “Be chaste yourselves, and women will be chaste as well,” again putting the primary burden of hijab on men.
This point was again illustrated when the Prophet rode with his companion Al Fadl bin Abbas. A woman described as strikingly beautiful approached the Prophet to seek his guidance on some religious matters. Al Fadl began to stare at her because of her beauty.
Noting this, the Prophet Muhammad did not scold the woman for dressing immodestly or revealing her beauty. Instead, he “reached his hand backwards, catching Al Fadl’s chin, and turned his face to the other side so that he would not gaze at her”. Thus, the Prophet Muhammad once more established that the primary burden to observe hijab rests on men.
Ughhhhh. Individual choice yes. But college has certain rules. You don't want to follow the rules, you don't join that particular college. Also, Islam is a very beautiful religion. Let's not make it all about the Hijab.
All students (irrespective of religion) should obey collage or school rule.
missionary school management are allowing sisters to wear their dress similar to Principal dress but they are restricted to hijab.
There is no comparison between student and principle..
Rules are only followed by the students.
Prici mam… whatever u are wearing is a perfect Hijab in Islam. Kindly allow Muslim girls also to wear the same in classroom.
Hahahahhah.. what a pic!!!! She can wear headscarf but Muslim students can’t wear!!!
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