Congress ‘plays down’ Pitroda’s remark

New Delhi: As the Congress on Wednesday distanced itself from its leader Sam Pitroda's "inheritance tax" remarks, saying sensationalising them are attempts at diverting attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "malicious" poll campaign, the BJP slammed the grand old party, calling it yet another brazen display of the "anti-India, anti-people" mindset of the Congress.

Amid the ongoing debate, the Congress asserted that it has no plans whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax and cited BJP leader and former Union minister Jayant Sinha's remarks to allege that it is the Modi government that wanted to do so.

Mr Pitroda, the president of the Congress' overseas wing, talked about the inheritance tax law in the United States while answering a query on the "redistribution of wealth" issue. Seeking to make it an election issue, Mr Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress over Mr Pitroda's "inheritance tax" remark, saying the grand old party's "dangerous intentions" of snatching away the assets and rights of people have come out in the open.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary incharge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the Congress has no plan whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax. In fact, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had abolished estate duty in 1985, he said, adding that it is the Modi government that wanted to do so. Mr Ramesh also claimed that BJP leader Amit Malviya had also tweeted in favour of the views of Mr Sinha.

Clarifying his position after his remarks triggering a political row, Mr Pitroda said on X, "It is unfortunate that what I said as an individual on inheritance tax in the US is twisted by Godi media to divert attention from what lies the PM is spreading about the Congress manifesto."

Labelling Mr Pitroda's "inheritance tax" remarks as a "nefarious design" to rob common people of their hard-earned money and property, the BJP claimed that the Congress’ "high tech guru" has made it clear that both the lives and wealth of the people of the country are in danger. The ruling party claimed that the concept of the US' inheritance tax, as mentioned by Mr Pitroda, is against Indian family values and Indian heritage, noting that India is a functional society.

Union home minister Amit Shah flayed Mr Pitroda’s remarks, saying, “The appeasement politics of the Congress stand exposed today with Mr Pitroda’s statement on wealth redistribution. He reaffirmed the party’s intention to seize the property of the majority and distribute it among the minority.”

Mr Shah further said: “It yet again brings to the fore that the empowerment of India’s poor, dalits, youth, tribes and backward classes was never on the Congress’s agenda.”

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Mr Pitroda has done an "X-ray" of the Congress manifesto, which mentions wealth redistribution, and asked which foreign forces have influenced the Congress's manifesto and its intention of imposing inheritance tax.

Mr Trivedi also asked the Opposition party to clarify to whom it plans to redistribute the hard-earned money of the common man while mentioning how the Congress gave power to the Waqf Board, the Ranganath Mishra Commission report and the Congress's 2012 manifesto for the UP Assembly polls promising 4.5 per cent reservation to Muslims.

Provided with fresh ammunition against the Congress after Mr Pitroda's remarks, the BJP Rajya Sabha MP said, “Mr Pitroda has elaborated the nefarious design of the Congress. We are a saving-based economy. In India, one generation (of a family) earns by doing hard work. The second generation builds on that and then the third generation gets some comfort.”