I was forced to bring out truths about Congress’ manifesto: Modi to News18

New Delhi: In an exclusive interview with News18 Network, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the much talked about inheritance tax is an idea being advocated by the Congress party and the BJP has no plans to either implement or consider it. 

While responding to News18 Network’s Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi’s questions, the Prime Minister said, “one of their (Congress) leaders gave an interview in America. He spoke about 55% tax on property. I am talking about viraasat and they are talking about looting it and wealth redistribution. That is their history. What else will they do?” he added.

“What the Bharatiya Janata Party (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 Bharatiya Janata Party is clear. We go before the country with our manifesto and works. Please don’t impose their great thoughts on us,” Prime Minister Modi told News18.  

When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s statement on conducting an X-ray or a social-economic survey that will look at which sections are behind and will redistribute wealth accordingly, the Prime Minister said, “An X-ray means raiding every household. If any woman has hidden gold in utensils, even finding that and then redistributing it. This Maoist ideology has never helped the world. This is an entirely ‘Urban Naxal’ thought.”

“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 on the country’s resources. They have clearly stated their intentions,” the Prime Minister said. 

“Now you have seen, in our country, banks have been nationalised, and they are playing these games of confiscation. This has already been done in the past. All the banks were private, they were nationalised and the money was taken in the name of the poor,” he added.

Elaborating on the statement made by Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006 and why he thinks Congress wants to give a part of OBC reservation to Muslims, Prime Minister Modi said, “You see the history of Congress; this demand has been raised since the 1990s. There is a huge section of society in the country which felt that something should be done for them, there were protests for it. Before 1990, Congress completely opposed it and suppressed it. Then whatever commissions they formed, whatever committees they formed, their reports started coming in favour of OBCs. They kept denying, rejecting, and suppressing these views. But after the 90s, due to vote-bank politics, they felt something must be done,” he told News18.

“So, what was the first sin they committed? In the 90s, they decided to classify Muslims as OBCs in Karnataka. So, they were suppressing and desecrating the idea earlier but, for political gains, they labelled Muslims as OBCs. Congress was ousted from the Centre. This plan remained stalled till 2004. When Congress came back in 2004, it immediately decided to give OBC quota to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh. The matter got complicated in court. The India Parliament had decided to give 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in line with the basic spirit of the Constitution. Now, they tried to appropriate this 27 per cent quota,” PM told News18.

“In 2006, a meeting of the National Development Council was held where there was a huge uproar over the statement of Singh. They remained quiet for two years. In the Ghoshana Patra of 2009, they mentioned it again. In 2011, there is a Cabinet Note on this where they decided to give the OBC share to Muslims. They tried this in the UP elections too but to no avail. In 2012, the Andhra High Court cancelled it. They went to Supreme Court, even there they did not get any relief. The 2014 Manifesto also talked about reservation on the basis of religion. When the Constitution of India was made, no RSS or BJP people were present. Great men like Pandit Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar were present there who decided, after long contemplation, that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion in a country like India,” the Prime Minister said. 

Adding to this, the Prime Minister said the Congress manifesto carries the imprint of the Muslim League. 

“The way they are flouting the Constitution, the way they are insulting Ambedkar… There is a threat to reservation for SCs and STs. Should I not inform the people of the country about this? I believe that it is the responsibility of all the learned people, who are rich in knowledge, who are unbiased, to educate this country, to tell it the right things,” the Prime Minister added.

Sharing his views on the Congress Manifesto, the Prime Minister said, “So far as the Congress manifesto is concerned, someone please tell me, are the manifestos of political parties during elections a mere showpiece? This is the work of the media to read the manifestos of every political party. I was waiting for the media to comment on 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. I thought that the media will be shocked. But they just kept saying whatever is presented by the Congress. Then I thought that this seems to be a big scam of the ecosystem and I will have to bring the truth. I waited for 10 days that the evils in the manifesto would be brought out by someone or the other because if it is brought out in an unbiased manner, it is good. Finally, I was forced to bring out these truths.”

Talking about the economic and banking reforms that the Modi government has been able to undertake in the last ten years, the Prime Minister said, “We opened 52 crore bank accounts, and I took the biggest advantage of it. I took the trinity of Jan Dhan, mobile and Aadhaar and encouraged Direct Benefit Transfer. A sum of Rs 36 lakh crore --- the figure is very big --- has gone into people's accounts [via Direct Benefit Transfer]. This huge financial inclusion has happened in our country [due to opening of accounts]. This is more than the number of accounts that would have opened in the world in a year. There is Jal Jeevan Mission in our country. In India, 3-4 per cent of the villages would get water from taps in their homes, that too in urban localities. Today, tap water has reached 14 crore rural families. Now all this work is what helped 25 crore people come out of poverty. We have empowered them, and my strategy is that we give so much strength to the poor, so much power, that the poor themselves overcome poverty. And when the poor overcome poverty with their hard work, after that they do not want to go back to poverty. It becomes a commitment, and they become the strength of the country,” the Prime Minister told News18.

“Today, we are benefiting as 25 crore people have come out of poverty. It is a very big achievement, the world is praising it, and this will become a model for the developing countries. You see, what was the situation before 2014? Fragile 5 used to be the headline. Today, we have become a vibrant economy,” he said.

“In IMF, there is a group of 150 countries of the world --- which includes China and India --- which we can call developing countries or countries with an emerging economy. They analysed such a group by classifying them together. It is a very interesting observation,” he continued.

“Now see what the analysis is. In 1998, India’s per capita GDP was around 30 per cent, compared to others in the peer group. At that time, Atal-ji’s government was in power. From 1998 to 2004, Atal-ji took this figure from 30 per cent to 35 per cent. It was a good progress. But unfortunately, in 2004, this khichdi company came and this khichdi company ruined the work of Atal-ji. They brought the number down from 35 per cent to 30 per cent. All these countries [in the peer group] performed better than India. During the UPA regime, India became poorer compared to the other countries in the developing world. Those poorer than us went ahead,” the PM told News18. 

“But in 2014, after the formation of the government, till 2019, you will be happy to know that we took the figure to 37 per cent. And when I reached the year 2024, this figure was 42 per cent. That means our income has grown very fast as compared to other countries of the world. If you look at the inflation rate in the period of ten years, which is discussed so much, then these ten years have seen the lowest inflation. What I am saying is on the basis of reality. We have achieved this after a lot of hard work. We have mobilised the entire government, and we have put in our best efforts to achieve the target. Despite that, what does Modi say? Modi says this is just a trailer, I have to go further. I want to move very fast, taking the country along with me," the Prime Minister added.

Talking about the BJP’s chances in the state of Karnataka, the Prime Minister said, “the people of Karnataka are regretting that they have committed such a big mistake by electing them (Congress). Our public support has not gone down; in fact, it has increased. But, in such a short time, they still have unresolved issues like the post of CM. While the CM has taken oath, it has not been settled who it really is. If you look at the law-and-order situation, there are riots and murders taking place; the economic condition is in a state of complete bankruptcy. The deputy CM is asking for votes for his brother so that he can become CM; so everyone is playing games. There are games being played to remove someone from the seat. As far as the BJP is concerned, we are working with team spirit even if my team was defeated.”

“Look at Bengaluru, it has played a big role in raising India’s reputation across the world. Bengaluru used to be known as the tech hub and now, in no time, it has been turned into a tanker hub. And tankers also have a mafia culture. People are yearning for water,” the Prime Minister told News18.