Rahul Gandhi’s plan to conduct ‘X-ray of society’ an Urban Naxal thought: Modi

Harping on the BJP’s allegation that the Congress intends to redistribute wealth if it comes to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that while the Grand Old Party allegedly advocates the ‘inheritance tax’ as a means to achieve the same, the BJP has no plans to implement it or even consider it.

While the Congress’ manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls does not mention inheritance tax, the debate over it gained momentum after senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda made a mention of the same in a recent interview.

While the Congress distanced itself from Pitroda’s statement, calling it his personal opinion, the BJP latched on to the issue to attack the Opposition party with the issue being the main topic in Prime Minister Narendra Modi election rallies.

‘Congress manifesto stamp of Muslim League’

Hinting at Pitroda’s statement, Modi in an interview with News18 on Sunday (April 28), said that while the BJP is talking about development and inheritance, the Congress is talking about “plundering” the same inheritance.

“When one of their ‘mahashay’ (gentleman) gave an interview in America where he brought up the issue of inheritance tax, about 55 per cent tax on your property. Now I am talking about development and inheritance and they are talking of plundering that inheritance. Their history till date is about doing what they have mentioned in the manifesto. It is my responsibility to tell the countrymen that they are taking the country in this direction. Now you decide whether you want to go or not. But it is my responsibility that on the basis of facts and importance, I should tell you [the truth],” he was quoted as saying.

Calling the Congress manifesto a “stamp of the Muslim League,” Modi said he himself was forced to bring out the alleged falsities in the document after waiting for the media to do so.

“This is the work of the media to read every political party’s manifesto. I was waiting for the media to do it. I had commented on the manifesto on the first day. After seeing the manifesto, I feel that it has the stamp of the Muslim League. Then I thought that the media would be shocked. But they just kept repeating whatever was presented by Congress,” he said.

“Then I thought that this seemed to be a big scam of the ecosystem, and I would have to bring out the truth. Waited for 10 days for the negative things in the manifesto would be brought out by someone or the other in an unbiased manner, which would've been good. I was forced to bring out these truths. Finally, I bring out the truth,” he added.

‘Rahul’s X-ray statement an Urban Naxal thought’

The prime minister also clarified that the BJP has no intention to impose any inheritance tax if it comes to power and will stick to promises made in its own manifesto.

“What the BJP plans to do is written in our manifesto. How does the thought that we will carry forward their plan even come to your mind? The ideology of the BJP is clear. We go before the country with our manifesto and works. Please don’t impose their great thoughts on us,” he said.

Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement about conducting an “X-ray” or a socio-economic survey to help identify poorer sections of society and make them economically stable, Modi said the though itself was “Urban Naxal” in nature.

“X-ray means raiding every household. If any woman has hidden gold where she stores grains, even that will be X-rayed. The jewels will be confiscated. Land records will be scrutinised. And these will be redistributed. This Maoist ideology has never helped the world. This is an entirely ‘Urban Naxal’ thought,” he said.

‘Congress plans to loot you’

Reiterating his earlier statement that the major beneficiaries of the Congress “wealth redistribution” plan will be Muslims – a remark which sparked a massive row – Modi said he believes it is his responsibility to “awaken the country to the fact that they are planning to loot you”.

“This is why the Jamaat, which usually keeps writing, kept quiet about the manifesto even after 10 days, because it will help them. They kept quiet to protect them. It then becomes my responsibility to awaken the country to the fact that they are planning to loot you. The next part is, Dr Manmohan Singh has said clearly who has the first right to the country’s resources. They have clearly stated their intentions,” he said.

In the course of the interview, Modi also spoke about the achievements of his government during its decade-long rule including introduction of schemes such as Direct Benefit Transfer, Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tapped water to 14 crore rural homes and poverty alleviation programmes.