What BJP vs Congress blame game over PM Modi's Manmohan speech is all about

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday speech has triggered a war of words between the BJP and Congress after the Indian prime minister invoked a 2006 speech where Manmohan Singh said that the “first claim” to India’s vast resources will be given to Muslims.

PM Modi’s comments stirred debate among the two parties, with many taking to social media to clarify what erstwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said under Congress’ rule.

What PM Modi said:

Addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara, Modi said, “Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s assets.”

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He added that if the grand old party comes back to power, the country’s properties will be distributed among people with more children.

#WATCH | PM Modi in Rajasthan's Banswara, says, "Congress is trapped in the clutches of the Leftists and urban naxals. What Congress has said in its manifesto is serious and worrying. They have said that if they form a government then a survey of property belonging to every… pic.twitter.com/jqRys2y7QU

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2024

Hitting back at Congress for manhandling India’s assets, Modi said, “This urban-naxal mindset, my mothers and sisters, they will not even leave your ‘Mangalsutra’. They can go to that level. The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute that property. They will distribute it to whom - Manmohan Singh’s government had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s assets.”

As the grand old party criticised the prime minister for making comments that will “incite hate among religious groups,” the saffron party shared an archive of the video, dated Dec 9, 2006, where Singh can be heard saying, “We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources.”

"We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources."

- Dr Manmohan Singh, 9th Dec, 2006

The Congress doesn’t trust their… https://t.co/MWAf8uP23N pic.twitter.com/EDAKfasXT8

— BJP (@BJP4India) April 21, 2024

What Congress said:

Meanwhile, Congress fact-checked PM Modi by sharing a post on X that showed two videos playing side-by-side, one of the prime minister and one from Singh’s speech.

PM मोदी को झूठ बोलने की गंदी आदत है.

एक बार फिर झूठ बोलते पकड़े गए. pic.twitter.com/G2DJkSvQ6S

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 21, 2024

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday said, “Unemployment and inflation are at their peak in the country and Narendra Modi says ’everything is fine’. He (Modi) has several new techniques to ‘divert from the issues’ ’ but the end of the business of lies is near.”

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also stepped up his attack on the prime minister.

“The Prime Minister speaks in a poisonous language on a whole lot of issues. He should also answer a simple question - Since 1951, census has been conducted every ten years. This reveals the actual data of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population. This should have been done in 2021 but has not been done till date. Why is the Prime Minister silent on this?” Ramesh said.