PM Modi tried to give communal angle to our manifesto: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to give a communal angle to the Congress manifesto.
The Congress leader also accused PM Modi of raising some issues that are not in the manifesto.
"BJP is in trouble. The PM is baffled. Since April 19, he has been trying to take the whole agenda in a different direction. He tried to give a communal angle to our manifesto, after which, he raised some issues which are not there in our manifesto... He is publicising our manifesto during his election rallies. Even though this publicity is wrong, it is based on lies, still, this is the first time that the PM is publicising the opposition's manifesto," he said.
Jairam Ramesh challenged the PM's claim that their manifesto talks about wealth redistribution, stating that there is not one word in their 50-page manifesto that hints at wealth redistribution.
"The PM says that our manifesto talks about wealth redistribution. I challenge him that in our 50-page manifesto, there is not one word that hints at wealth redistribution," he said.
He mentioned that the Congress manifesto does not include any mention of inheritance tax, hence, it is not part of their agenda.
"I want to clarify one thing. There is no mention of inheritance tax in our manifesto, it is not our agenda. The truth is, that in 1985, PM Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax.. We never mentioned anything about inheritance tax, and it is not a part of our agenda," he said.
A controversy erupted after the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda, while emphasising the need for policy towards wealth redistribution, spoke about the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in America and said that these are issues that will need to be discussed.
However, the Congress party has distanced itself from the remarks and said that inheritance tax laws do not reflect the position of the party.
But, the BJP came guns blazing at the Congress party over Pitroda's remarks.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday criticised the Congress party's proposal for an inheritance tax, accusing them of intending to seize the property of common people.
He added that the Congress, which has looted the country for 60-65 years, plans to distribute the proceeds among the Rohingyas as part of their vote bank policy.
"The mindset of Congress for the country and the common people of the country was revealed during the UPA government regime and yesterday. There were hints even in the Congress manifesto. What Sam Pitroda said yesterday was advocated for by then Home Minister P Chidambaram too. Congress looted the country's resources for almost 60-65 years. Now, it has its eyes set on common people's property. That is why it is talking about Inheritance tax. It will distribute it among people who are intruders. Who doesn't know that behind the crores of intruders, Rohingyas in different parts of the country is Congress' vote bank policy? They have always done politics at the cost of the nation, inheritance tax is a part of it," he said.