Congress hits back at Modi's 'Muslim budget' charge
What's the story
The Congress has quashed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegations that the party had plans to introduce a separate budget for Muslims when it was in power in 2013. "The Congress government had openly said...Muslims have the first right on the country's resources. I was present in the meeting in which (former PM) Dr Manmohan Singh said this and I had raised my objection...Congress wanted to allocate 15% of...budget for Muslims," PM Modi said while addressing a rally Wednesday in Maharashtra
Context
Why does this story matter?
This comes amid a debate over PM Modi's clarification that he never engaged in Hindu-Muslim politics. The PM said he has been highlighting the Congress's appeasement politics. The Congress has accused the prime minister of engaging in divisive politics. This accusation stemmed from a recent speech in which Modi, discussing "wealth redistribution," made comments about "infiltrators" and "those who have more children." In an interview, Modi clarified that he was not referring to Muslims, but to poor families.
Statement
Chidambaram denies PM's charge
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh denied PM Modi's allegations, labeling them as "outrageous" and "hallucinatory." "Article 112 of the Constitution of India contemplates only one Annual Financial statement, which is the Union Budget. How can there be two budgets?" Chidambaram wrote on X.
Twitter Post
Read Chidambaram's post here
Hon'ble Prime Minister's statements are increasingly bizarre and show that his speech writers have lost their balance
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 16, 2024
Yesterday, he claimed that if he played the Hindu-Muslim divide, he would not be fit to be in public life
Today, he played his usual game of dividing Hindus and…
X post
'Nonsensical statement': Ramesh
Separately, Congress General Secretary Ramesh said PM Modi's Muslim budget statement was "typical Modi bombast and bogusness." "The outgoing Prime Minister is making nonsensical statements of what Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to do and how as CM of Gujarat he stopped it," he said. "In reality, Manmohan Singh was setting up a committee of chief ministers on agriculture in 2013 and then Modi became the prime minister," Ramesh added.
Twitter Post
Read Ramesh's statement here
The outgoing Prime Minister is making nonsensical statements of what Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to do and how as CM of Gujarat he stopped it.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 15, 2024
This is typical Modi bombast and bogusness.
What is 100% true is that Dr. Manmohan Singh set up a Committee of CMs on agriculture in…
Reaction
Modi's statements could increase communal disharmony: Pawar
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also responded to Modi's allegations, expressing concern that they could exacerbate communal disharmony in the country. "Narendra Modi is the first prime minister of the country who has taken positions that would increase the communal disharmony between various religions and castes," Pawar stated at a rally in Maharashtra.