Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress Saturday morning – a day after the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections – and claimed that there were “foreign forces” involved in preparing the poll manifesto of the opposition party.

“In the Congress manifesto, along with the hand of the Congress, hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children’s property to Muslims, finish the nations nuclear weapons, divide the nation on casteism and regionalism,” Mr Thakur said at a rally in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur.

“The tukde-tukde gang has surrounded Congress completely and has hijacked their ideology. You have to decide whether the children’s property should remain with them or should it go to Muslims. We gave all rights to Muslims, equally. But we did not give it based on religion, we gave it because it was their right,” he added.

#WATCH | Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh: Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, “In the Congress manifesto, along with the hand of the Congress, hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children’s property to Muslims, finish the nations nuclear weapons, divide the… pic.twitter.com/3dxJE6avvz

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2024

The attack follows fierce sparring between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Opposition leaders over claims that the Congress will seize the wealth of Indians and distribute it among Muslims. At rallies in Rajasthan’s Tonk and Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, the PM alleged that the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government had said Muslims have the first right to the country’s wealth.

The remarks have sparked a massive row, with one section criticising the Prime Minister for using expressions such as “infiltrators” for Muslims, and another section slamming Dr Singh over his alleged remarks.

In a five-minute video message posted on the BJP’s X handle yesterday, BJP party chief JP Nadda also repeated controversial sections from the Prime Minister’s Rajasthan speech – in which he referred to Muslims and said the Congress plans to “redistribute wealth to infiltrators” – and said, “Congress says Muslims have first right on country’s resources, whereas PM Modi says poor people must have the first right…”

“BJP does not want Muslims to be neglected… but they should not take undue advantage at expense of others,” Mr Nadda declared, as he slammed the Congress for “appeasement politics” and claimed such practices were evident in its manifesto – which the PM called a “Muslim League imprint”.

Mr Thakur and Mr Nadda’s remarks come just days after the Election Commission sent a notice to the party based on a complaint by the Congress against the Prime Minister, alleging he made divisive remarks during his Rajasthan speech. The notice – in a significant first – said party bosses would be held accountable for Model Code violations in campaign speeches and materials.

The poll panel sent a nearly identical notice to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, after the BJP filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, claiming he had made “obnoxious utterances” against Mr Modi.

In a two-page statement – which did not name either the Prime Minister or Mr Gandhi but included copies of the complaints – the poll body said “‘star campaigners’ are expected to contribute to a higher quality of discourse… which sometimes gets distorted in the heat of contests at local level”.

Hitting back at PM Narendra Modi, who has been attacking the Congress over an alleged “wealth redistribution” promise in its manifesto, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she has seen several Prime Ministers – including her father who she “brought back in pieces” – but not one who lies to the people. 

In various rallies during the ongoing Lok Sabha election, PM Modi has alleged that the Congress has promised “wealth redistribution” in its manifesto and would not spare even women’s ‘mangalsutras’ – a piece of jewellery worn by Hindu married women. The Congress, including its president Mallikarjun Kharge, has denied this charge and accused the PM of spreading misinformation.

Addressing a rally at Dharampur village in Valsad in PM Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Saturday, Ms Gandhi said in Hindi, “I have seen many Prime Ministers, and not just from my family. Yes, Indira Gandhi was one of them, she sacrificed her life for this country. Rajiv Gandhi was a Prime Minister too, I brought him home in pieces, he sacrificed his life for his country.” 

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, when a 22-year-old member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) detonated a belt laden with RDX while bending down to touch his feet. 

Ms Gandhi continued, “Manmohan Singh brought a revolution in this country. If you look beyond the Congress party, there was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was a civilised man at least. I can say with conviction that this will be the first Prime Minister of the country who lies to you like this. Who does not even think that he is speaking in front of the people and should be telling the truth.”

“He is now warning people to stay alert and claiming that the Congress will enter with an X-ray machine, see what you have, snatch your ornaments and ‘mangalsutras’ and give it to someone else. The Prime Minister is saying this. Is it even possible that this can be true? What is his problem with our nyay (justice) manifesto? Is his confidence shaken,” she asked.

‘Changing Constitution’

Repeating her party’s charge that the BJP had set a target of winning 400 seats for the NDA because it wanted to amend the constitution, she said the ruling party denies things before coming to power and then implements its agenda. 

“You must have seen that several BJP leaders, ministers and candidates are saying in various places, that they will change the Constitution. But PM Modi is saying they have no such intentions. If you look at their history, you will realise that they make junior leaders state what the party is going to do and then deny it initially,” she said.

“As soon as they come to power, they implement the thing they denied they would do. This is their tactic, their process. They want to change the Constitution to weaken democracy and the people and deprive them of their rights,” the Congress leader claimed.

All 26 seats in Gujarat will vote in the third phase on May 7. Results will be declared on June 4. 

The BJP has named lawyer Ujjwal Nikam who was the public prosecutor in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks as its candidate from Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Nikam replaces Poonam Mahajan, the current MP from this seat, as the party’s candidate.

Mr Nikam was also the prosecutor in the murder case of Pramod Mahajan, the father of Poonam Mahajan, who was shot dead by his brother Pravin in April 2006 following a dispute.

Poonam Mahajan was elected from the constituency in 2014 and 2019. She is also a former president of the BJP’s youth wing.

Party leaders have said the decision to drop her was based on organisational feedback, news agency PTI reported.

Though indications had been there for some time Poonam that Mahajan would be dropped, it was the party’s search for her replacement that took time, sources told PTI.

The Congress fielded its city unit chief and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai North Central.

Voting in Mumbai is scheduled on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP also named eight more candidates for the Odisha assembly polls, which will be held alongside the general elections.