In the 2009 video, Singh, possibly in response to a question at a presser, twice iterates the statement he first made at the 2006 meeting of National Development Council about Muslims being prioritised in allocation of resources.“I said minorities, particularly Muslim minorities, if they are poorer, they have prior claim on economic resources of the country. I said all minorities and I added particularly Muslim minorities… and I stand by that,” Singh said is seen saying.
PM’s response was swift and aggressive. “Today, another old video of Manmohan Singh has surfaced where he is again saying that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources. I urge the media to make people aware of this video and debate it. The country also needs to know the mindset of those who ran the coalition government for 10 years,” he said at a rally in Araria in Bihar.
Modi said the video had exposed Congress and others who accused him of distorting Singh’s 2006 comment. “The video which has surfaced today has exposed Congress and the INDI Alliance parties and their ecosystem seems numbed. They spread the lie that Manmohan Singh never made any such assessment. They abused me without any basis, evidence or fact check,” he added.
Modi said BJP’s approach over who should have the first claim on national resources was very different as it believed in prioritising the poor, irrespective of their caste and community. “We believe that the first claim is that of the poor, of the worker, of the farm labourer, of our poor mothers and sisters. They believe in appeasement, whereas we believe in saturating all with benefits,” he said.
The “appeasement” charge ran through a thread at the speeches also in Munger and Malda, with the PM repeating the allegation that Congress’s manifesto reflected the influence of Muslim League and linking Singh’s pitch for privileging Muslims to Congress’s plan to conduct a survey of wealth and assets as a prelude to equitable distribution. He also attacked other members of INDI Alliance for their silence over Congress’s plan to conduct an “X-ray” of who owned how much assets. “They are all glued by their politics of appeasement,” he said.
The PM also accused Congress of having “stolen” reservations meant for OBCs and transferring the benefits to Muslims in Karnataka, where the party is in office. He said it wanted to replicate the “conspiracy” in the rest of the country, including in Bihar where its ally RJD has “not spoken a word against” the move in the southern state.
“Being an OBC myself, I know the hardships faced by the backward classes. In future, they may loot reservations for SCs and STs as well,” Modi said.
He also tore into Rahul Gandhi and technocrat Sam Pitroda, without mentioning either of them by name, saying “The Shehzada (crown prince) of Congress and his guru do not want you to bequeath your property to your children. They have come up with the dreadful idea of imposing inheritance tax.”