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
South Kanara police are doing wonderful job around...now they must take action against those bajrangies who had done ugly job around this incident....
In this case book the hate mongers and levy heavy penalty on them. They should be jailed for not less than 10 years with penalty of not less that 50 lacs for the loss of property done by the follower of these hate mongers. Take away their voting right and kick them out of karnataka.
If there are no instances of forcible conversions, what action they are going to take against those who accuse without any evidences? What action they are going to take against those hate mongers who incite communal hatred by using falsified allegations? At least a warning that it won't be repeated again or an public apology?
Now a days, Poojary's, Shankaracharya's Are converting to islam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rJZWrX-fzk
Crorepati acharya Sanjay dwiwedi, who converted to islam, and preaching islam. Now leading a common life
@viren
UK's No 1 News channel
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343954/100-000-Islam-converts-…
There is no force involved to convert to islam in anywhere of
If nothing is found by the Police, then why these dogs are barking in Kalladka ???/ ...
Dear brother Viren Naren
Please use your intellect that God has given U before it perishes with God's permission... Atleast PONDER on what PREM says and research on it before spreading your VeNOM without knowledge of ISLAM in this forum...
TRUTH will prevail however u try to deceive people... Anyway try your best but also note that U need to look into QURAN before making enemies with the TRUTH.
Without knowledge of your enemy ... U look Dumb.
Viren Kotian,
Who's forcing you to accept Islam???
But, you can be booked for inciting communal hatred between communities using this forum.
Prem and true (anti) Indian are doing religious propaganda here. coastaldigest.com should not entertain such comments. This is not a religious forum. They are encouraging religious conversions. DK police should take necessary action against such comments.
ISLAM is the only religion accepted by God...
Eternal life begins when death happens...
Dont worship the creation of God, thats the only sin which will not be forgiven by God... (associating partners with God...)
Know who is our CREATOR before bowing down to created things..
God is merciful and most compassionate... A honest heart will find God if his intention is right to know about God...
To know about God and his attributes read religious scripture specially the QURAN (the quranproject online) a manual to MANKIND... Read to understand about Creator not to Hate... please, as a human brother ... keep away your hatred and make effort to know who is our CREATOR rather than falling prey to some hate mongers...
USE YOUR GOD GIVEN INTELLECT...
Surah barakah 2:256
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion.
Forcing anyone to convert is not allowed in islam.
No other religion book says so.
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