Congress leader Danish Ali has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of provoking minorities after he compared Muslims with “infiltrators” during an election rally recently.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Danish Ali, the Congress candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Amroha, said by using this kind of vocabulary for the minorities, the prime minister wants to provoke them. Follow full coverage of the Lok Sabha elections.
“I will say this much: with this kind of vocabulary, these kinds of words they are using, he is provoking the people. How can 14% of minorities keep the 86% of this country frightened?” Danish Ali told HT.
“There could not be a more absurd joke than labelling the largest minority of this country as infiltrators,” he added.
Danish Ali, who joined the Congress after being suspended from Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), will face Bharatiya Janata Party's Kanwar Singh Tanwar and Mujahid Husain of the BSP in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Amroha, which will go to polls on April 26.
What PM Modi said about minorities
During an election rally in Rajasthan, PM Narendra Modi claimed that if voted to power, the Congress would distribute the country's wealth to those who have more children.
"Congress earlier said Muslims had the first right in the country's wealth. In their manifesto, the Congress said they will distribute the country's property...to whom? Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right to the country's assets. This means they will distribute the wealth among those who have more children, among infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?" Modi had asked.
{{/usCountry}}"Congress earlier said Muslims had the first right in the country's wealth. In their manifesto, the Congress said they will distribute the country's property...to whom? Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right to the country's assets. This means they will distribute the wealth among those who have more children, among infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?" Modi had asked.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress had condemned the statement, saying that the prime minister, through his 'lies', was again creating division between Hindus and Muslims.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, however, had defended Modi's remarks, saying that the PM echoed people's sentiments by calling a spade a spade. Bhatia said the opposition is in pain as Modi has shown them the mirror of its past.