Congress wants to ‘loot’ people with inheritance tax: Modi

Raipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday waded into the raging debate on inheritance tax, triggered by Congress leader Sam Pitroda, saying that the grand old party wants to loot the common people by imposing it. Mr Modi used the row to whip the Congress with the "zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi" (during lifetime and after death) jibe.

Addressing a rally in Ambikapur, district headquarters of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, the Prime Minister also said that the "votebank hungry" Congress wants to implement reservations on the basis of religion.

“The Congress is about to set a dangerous precedent by imposing an inheritance tax that aims to impose unreasonable taxes on everything and anything, depriving people of their wealth. This will shatter the financial backbone of ordinary people,” he said.

At the rally, Mr Modi cautioned that by implementing inheritance tax, the Congress wants to loot the people zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi.

“The dangerous intentions of the Congress are now out in the open as it toys with the idea of introducing inheritance tax,” he said and warned, “They (the Congress) want to snatch your assets and rights of your children."

Congress veteran Sam Pitroda has mooted the idea of implementing an inheritance tax. His party, however, distanced itself from Mr Pitroda's suggestion, saying that it is his personal view.

Taking a dig at the Congress for "planning" to implement reservations on the basis of religion, Mr Modi called it a Muslim League mindset.

“Today, when I have come to Surguja, I want to present the Muslim League mindset of the Congress in front of the country. When their manifesto was released, on the same day I had said and am saying today also, that the Congress manifesto has the imprint of the Muslim League," he said.

The Prime Minister maintained that when the Constitution was being drafted, intellectuals and great personalities under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar decided that there will be no reservation on the basis of religion in India.

“If there is a reservation, then it will be for my dalit and tribal brothers and sisters,” he said, adding, “But the votebank-hungry Congress never bothered about the words of the great personalities, the sanctity of the Constitution or the words of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Years ago, the Congress made an attempt to implement reservations on the basis of religion in Andhra Pradesh. Thereafter, the Congress had planned to implement it in the entire country," he said.

Mr Modi said that the Congress plans to implement 15 per cent reservation on the basis of religion by curtailing the quotas of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.

The Congress had made similar pledges in its 2009 election and in the 2014 manifestos and had pledged not to leave the issue, Mr Modi said, adding that the Congress would curtail reservation quotas for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes to implement reservation on the basis of religion.

The Prime Minister pointed out that earlier, a Congress government in Karnataka had implemented reservations on the basis of religion. But it was quashed by the BJP government later.

The present Congress government in Karnataka has not only implemented reservations on the basis of religion but also included all the castes of the Muslim community in the OBC category, he said, adding that this has hurt the OBC community.

“The Congress trampled social justice, murdered it and killed secularism there (Karnataka). This model of Karnataka is what the Congress wants to implement in the entire country. The Congress wants to give the rights of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes to its votebank by changing the Constitution,” Mr Modi said.

“It is the BJP alone that can protect the reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes," he said.

Mr Modi said that the Congress has also set its eye on the earnings, houses, farms and other properties of the common people.

“The Shehzada of the Congress (apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi) says they will conduct an X-ray of the property of every house and every family in the country. The Congress will snatch all these things from you and they say that they will equally distribute them," Mr Modi said while addressing the public meeting.

“Do you know to whom they will distribute it after looting from you?” Mr Modi asked, to which people replied in the affirmative.

“I need not tell you to whom they will distribute it," he said.