Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparked controversy with his speech at a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara, where he claimed that if the Congress came to power it would redistribute people’s wealth to Muslims and “not even spare your mangalsutra”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has responded in an open letter to the PM.
Here is the full text:
Dear Pradhan Mantri ji,
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
I am neither shocked nor surprised by your language or your speeches over the last few days. It was expected that you and other leaders from your party would start speaking in this manner after you saw the performance of the BJP in the first phase of the elections.
The Congress has been talking about the poor and their rights (Nyay). We are aware that you and your govt does not have any concern for the poor. Your suit-boot ki sarkaar works for the corporates whose taxes you reduced, while salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pays GST and rich corporates claim GST refunds.
That is why when we talk of inequality between rich and poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim. Our manifesto is for the poor whether they are Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Sikh. Do not try to divide the nation like your former allies.
The Congress has always served to empower the poor and you have ruled to snatch the earnings and wealth of the poor. Your government was the one who used demonetisation as an “organised loot and legalised plunder” to transfer the money deposited by the poor in the banks to the rich in the form of loans. Then these loans were written off by your government. The lakhs of crores of corporate loans that your govt has written off since 2014 is transfer of wealth from poor to rich. No farmer’s loan was waived off by you.
You and your government have repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing in the country. Today, you talk about their mangalsutra. Isn’t your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, atrocities against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists?
When farmers are committing suicides under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children? Please read about the Nari Nyay we will be implementing when we come to power.
It has become a habit for you to seize on few words taken out of context and create a communal divide. You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner.
When all this is over, people will remember that the PM of the country used such vulgar language for fear of losing an election.
Do not get carried away by your own people who are clapping at your speeches. They are not allowing you to hear the crores of right thinking citizens who are disappointed by your speeches.
The Congress Nyay Patra aims at providing Nyay to the youth, women, farmers, labours and marginalised people across all castes and communities.
You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto. I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our Nyay Patra so that as the Prime Minister you don’t make statements that are false.
Also read: Democracy will end if ‘Modi-Shah sarkar’ returns to power: Kharge