Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to criticize the Congress sharply on Wednesday, saying that the party "hates the country's constitution, hates identity of India" and is preparing to cut the quota of SCs, STs and OBCs and to implement reservations based on religion.
PM Modi stated that the Congress "wants to snatch your property" and that the party has a secret plan including "inheritance tax" while speaking at a rally in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
He said that by granting reservations based on religion, Congress was acting in violation of the Constitution.
"Today, such a truth of Congress has come out that stunned the countrymen. Our constitution prohibits reservation based on religion. BR Ambedkar himself was against this but Congress has taken a dangerous resolution and to complete this they are continuously trying to fool people and play their own game. Congress has given reservations in Andhra Pradesh based on religion in 2004. In their manifesto for the 2009 and 2014 elections, they have promised religion-based reservations... Congress is preparing to cut the quota of SC, ST and OBC and to implement reservations based on religion," he said.
In an attempt to criticize the Congress, PM Modi used the LIC slogan.
"'Congress ka mantra hai-Congress ki loot, jindagi ke sath bhi loot, jindagi ke baad bhi loot. Congress hates the country's Constitution. They hate the identity of India and hence they are working on all those projects that weaken the Country and its stature... The Congress who said lord Ram is an imaginative figure, has rejected the invitation of 'Pran Pratistha'," he alleged.
Congress, according to PM Modi, intends to tax the inheritance that parents leave behind.
"Congress has now made another revelation. Their hidden agenda has come out. Congress says that it will impose an Inheritance Tax...Congress says it will also impose a tax on the Inheritance received from parents. Congress will take away almost half of your property that you have accumulated through your hard work and want to give it to your children...Congress has no idea about India's family values," he alleged.
"Congress wants to snatch your property. They will do an x-ray as their leader is saying and will look at what is there in your locker and at home... Be it jewellery or the 'mangalsutra' of women, Congress will search for everything and then they will snatch it and redistribute it... If you have two homes, one in the city and the other in the village, Congress will take one. If you have two cars, they will take one, Congress has announced this. After snatching all these things from you, they want to give it to their 'vote bank'," he added.
Later on, Jairam Ramesh, the leader of the Congress, said that the term "redistribution" is absent from the Congress Nyay Patra.
He stated in a post on X that "it has, however, appeared before in the BJP's election manifestos."
He also denied the claim made by the Bharatiya Janata Party that the Congress wants to tax inheritances in the country.
He said "The Congress has no plan whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax. Rajiv Gandhi abolished Estate Duty in 1985."
