Congress govt used to say Muslims have first right to wealth… they will distribute wealth to those with more children: PM Modi in Rajasthan

“Ye Congress ka manifesto keh raha hai, ki woh mataon aur beheno ke sone ka hisaab karenge, uski jarthi karenge, jaanakari lenge aur phir woh sampati ko baant denge. Aur unko baatenge, jinko Manmohan Singh ji ki sarkar ne kaha tha ki sampati par pehla adhikar Musalmanon ka hai. Bhaiyon aur behno, yeh Urban Naxal ki soch, meri mataon, behno, aapka mangal sutra bhi bachne nahi denge (Congress’s manifesto says they will take stock of the gold mothers and daughters have, and will distribute that wealth. Manmohan Singh’s government had said Muslims have the first right to wealth. Brothers and sisters, this Urban Naxal thinking will not spare even the mangal sutras of my mothers and sisters),” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma during a rally in Jalore. (PTI)

Singh, at a meeting of the National Development Council in December 2006, had flagged the need for judicious use of resources. “I believe our collective priorities are clear. Agriculture, irrigation and water resources, health, education, critical investment in rural infrastructure, and the essential public investment needs of general infrastructure, along with programmes for the upliftment of SCs/STs, other backward classes, minorities and women and children. The component plans for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will need to be revitalised. 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,” he had said. The next day, the PMO also clarified that Singh’s reference to ‘first claim on resources’ “refers to all the ‘priority’ areas… including programmes for the upliftment of SCs, STs, OBCs, women and children and minorities…”

At Sunday’s rally, Modi also said the Congress was creating fear among the public by “spreading lies about the Constitution”.

“Sometimes they create fear in tribals or Dalits or minorities. These days, they are spreading lies about the Constitution or reservation during election time. They know very well that their lies will not work, as tribals are smart enough to understand their rights,” he said.

At a rally in Jalore earlier in the day, Modi said the Congress was using Rajasthan to send those who can’t win elections to Rajya Sabha.

Pointing out that the Congress sent a leader from south India to the Upper House from Rajasthan, Modi asked, “Has he spoken about Rajasthan even once?” Senior Congress leader K C Venugopal, from Kerala was elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Jalore. (PTI)

The PM also referred to his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, saying, “Out of respect, he was also sent to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan – it is true that he was unwell for long – but did you see him in Rajasthan again?”

“Aur ab, unke ek doosre neta ko aap ne bachane ki koshish ki, Rajasthan waalon ne (And now, people of Rajasthan have tried to save another leader of theirs). People who can’t contest or win elections, have left the field and come to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan,” he said. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had earlier this year been elected to Rajya Sabha from the state.

He also said that the Congress, “which once won 400 seats, is unable to contest 300 seats” now. Calling the Opposition INDIA bloc an “opportunistic” alliance, he said it had lost steam even before it could gather pace.

Jalore and Banswara are among the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan that goes to the polls in the second phase of the general election on April 26. The other 12 constituencies in the state already voted in the first phase – April 19.

Modi said the people of Rajasthan had taught Congress a lesson in the first phase. “In the first phase, half of Rajasthan has punished the Congress and taught it a lesson. Full of patriotism, Rajasthan knows that Congress cannot ever make a strong Bharat. The country doesn’t want a Congress government. The country doesn’t want the pre-2014 situation to return. Everyone used to threaten the weak Congress government and everyone was busy looting the country. No one even used to ask for the Prime Minister, and the government used to be run by remote control,” he said.

Highlighting his government’s achievements, particularly for Rajasthan, Modi said, around 19 lakh poor, Dalit, backward, and tribal families in the state have been given pucca houses, of which 1 lakh homes have been constructed in Jalore and Sirohi.

The Congress has fielded Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, against BJP’s Lumbaram Choudhary from Jalore. The BJP’s Devji Patel is the sitting MP from the seat.

In Banswara, the BJP’s Mahendra Singh Malviya will take on the Congress’s Arvind Damor. The sitting MP is the BJP’s Kanak Mal Katara.