The Congress seems to have outsourced the making of its manifesto to minorities and people from the extreme Left, Home Minister Amit Shah said as he tore into the Grand Old Party for promoting personal laws and taking the country back to politics of appeasement.
In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah said the BJP had raised the manifesto issue to expose the intentions of those contesting against it.
“Tell me, in this era, can any political party talk of personal laws? Will the country run on the basis of Sharia? On the one hand, in our manifesto, in our Sankalp Patra, we talk about bringing a Uniform Civil Code. Congress is saying that it will promote personal laws. The Congress must answer because this is a very important issue,” Shah said.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand that the Congress manifesto bore the imprint of the Muslim League, the home minister said: “They are saying that for the contracts of the country, they will give priority to minorities. Who is the first lowest, what is the past performance, whether they have the capability to do the work or not, will contracts be decided on the basis of this or on the basis of religion? How do they want to run the country? The people of the country will have to decide. After a long time, Narendra Modi-ji has taken the country out of the politics of appeasement. They want to take it back in the same direction again because the Congress does not have the confidence to win.”
Shah said there was no ambiguity over where the resources would come from for distribution among minorities. “It comes from the statement of the then Prime Minister of the country, Manmohan Singh, which was a very famous statement that the minorities have the first right to the resources of this country, and among the minorities, particularly Muslims. Now when it comes to distributing wealth, it will be from resources only. The government will distribute it by taking people’s property. And I say that if this is not true, then the Congress party should clarify what this means.”
On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s idea of a ‘nationwide X-Ray’ to determine the socio-economic status of the people and redistribute wealth accordingly, the home minister said: “That’s his thinking. I think that such an old party has outsourced the making of its manifesto to minorities and people from the extreme Left.”
Asked about the BJP and PM Modi’s “Mangalsutras will be snatched” assertion, Shah said the issue of wealth included people’s savings, property and ‘Streedhan’.
Shah also weighed in on the inheritance tax debate as he took a dig at Sam Pitroda, US-based president of the Congress’s overseas wing, who had recently spoken about inheritance tax in the US while delving into the issue of redistribution of wealth.
“I feel that Sam Pitroda is living in an ivory tower. He has no connection with the culture of this country, the mood of the people, and the traditions of this country,” he said.
Asked if the BJP would never bring any inheritance tax, the home minister said: “We have placed our Sankalp Patra in front of the people with total transparency. All the facts are there. We will not do anything covertly.”
The sentiment was echoed by PM Modi in his exclusive interview with Network18 when he said BJP’s vision for the country is clearly laid out in its manifesto and indicated that inheritance tax is not remotely part of it.
“What the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to do is written in our manifesto… 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.
“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],” the prime minister had said.
Watch Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s full interview on CNN-News18 at 9pm.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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