At a weekend rally, President Modi claimed the opposition wanted to take Hindus’ money and give it to “infiltrators.” The opposition Congress Party said he meant Muslims, and lodged an official election complaint.
Congress claims Modi “blatantly targeted” the country’s 200-million Muslims by using thinly veiled negative statements about “infiltrators,” which it said was.
Speaking in Rajasthan on Sunday ahead of that state’s , Modi claimed that a previous Congress government had promised, “Muslims must have the first right over the nation’s wealth.” He went on to claim: “It will be distributed to those who have more children. It will be distributed to the infiltrators.”
He then asked the largely Hindu crowd: “Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to infiltrators? Would you accept that?”
Opposition: Modi’s speech a ‘blatant and direct violation of election laws’
Congress called the comments “divisive, objectionable and malicious,” in its complaint, saying that by targeting “a particular religious community,” Modi’s words represented a “blatant and direct violation of our election laws.”
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who spoke to reporters Monday after the filing, said, “We hope concrete action will be taken.”
India, the world’s most populous country, . It is constitutionally secular and its election code prohibits campaigning based on “communal feelings.”
Hindu-first Modi accused of using religion as a wedge
Modi, who has served as India’s prime minister since May 2014, is seeking his third term in office. The unapologetically politician is expected to cruise to victory, but his increasingly aggressive touting of Hindu ideals and superiority have drawn criticism.
Though his Bharatoya Kanata Party’s (BJP) election manifesto makes no mention of “Hindu,” Modi has regularly made very public appearances promoting Hinduism as defining India.
In January, for instance, he — a place of worship built on the former site of centuries-old mosque that had been razed by fanatic Hindus in 1992.
