Fact-checking Modi’s claim about Manmohan Singh’s alleged preference for resource allocation to Muslims

Following senior BJP leader Narendra Modi’s accusations that the Congress seeks to seize people’s land, money, and other assets and divide them among Muslims or illegal migrants/infiltrators, the second round of the Lok Sabha elections has thrown political parties into a frenzy. According to Prime Minister Modi, the Congress party has included a reference of it in its platform. Speaking at a rally in Rajasthan, Modi asserted that the Congress would give riches to Muslims if it were to win power. He highlighted the statement made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who stated that the minority population had the right to the nation’s resources first.

The poll comment has sparked a firestorm on social media, with Congress leaders disputing the statement’s veracity in the party platform and BJP leaders asserting that the Congress has made the pledge.

What Did Leaders in Congress Say?

Leader of the Congress Party P Chidambaram refuted claims made by others that Manmohan Singh stated Muslims had the first claim to resources. Chidambaram denounced Modi’s comments as ludicrous, claiming that every word was blatantly mendacious and completely wrong. “When did the Congress announce that Muslims will receive a share of the land, riches, and other assets owned by non-Muslims? Will the BJP inform the world of this? When and when did the Congress announce that a survey will be carried out to determine the value of individual property, women’s gold holdings, and tribal families’ silver holdings? c) When and when did Congress declare that funds and land owned by public servants would likewise be allocated?

Respect for his predecessor is a prerequisite for the prime minister. An excerpt from Dr. Manmohan Singh’s December 2006 speech to the NDC may be found in today’s Indian Express. Dr. Singh had previously said that women, children, minorities, SC, ST, and OBC had the first right to resources. Chidambaram declared, “It is scandalous to distort his words as Mr. Modi has done.”

BJP Addresses Allegation

The BJP, however, answered the Congress party’s accusation without delay. BJP leader Amit Malviya stated on social media platform X, “The Congress Manifesto 2024 is clear….In a recent public event in Maharashtra on March 16, 2024, Rahul Gandhi also discussed conducting a thorough institutional, financial, and economic study to determine the exact distribution of wealth (perhaps prior to its redistribution). It is obvious as day that Congress wishes to seize our riches, the wealth of the underprivileged and marginalized, the savings of women, the savings of SCs and STs, and Redistribute it as the Congress UPA had wanted, primarily to minorities. They can’t back down from their own obligations now that they’ve been revealed.”

Says Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?

The statement made by then-prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2006 at the NDC is the one to which PM Modi was alluding. Former Prime Minister Singh had stated, “I think our priorities as a group are very clear: agriculture, water resources and irrigation, health, education, a vital investment in rural infrastructure, and the public investment needs of general infrastructure, as well as programs for the advancement of women and children, minorities, SC/STs, and other backward classes.

It will be necessary to revive the component plans for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. To guarantee that minorities, especially the Muslim minority, are enabled to fairly partake in the benefits of growth, we will need to come up with creative strategies. They ought to be first in line for resources. The Center has a plethora of other duties, all of which must be accommodated within the constraints of available resources.

In case you’re asking if Congress has made a commitment on wealth distribution, the response is in the affirmative; nevertheless, the same point is not made explicitly in its manifesto. Rahul Gandhi declared, “We will first conduct a nationwide caste census to determine how many people belong to the OBCs, SCs, STs, and minorities,” during a rally in Hyderabad. Then, in an unprecedented move, we will study institutions and the financial system to determine how wealth is distributed.

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