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A brazenly polarising speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stooped too low on Sunday in his polarising campaign while delivering an election speech at Banswara of Rajasthan.

He alleged that the Congress’ manifesto promises to distribute the nation’s wealth among Muslims. Referring to the Muslim community by name he dubbed them ‘producers of larger number of children’ and ‘infiltrators into the country’.

Not merely did Mr Modi, who is the star campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), distort facts before an audience about the Indian National Congress’ manifesto, but he also reportedly twisted a speech by former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

And this was done while beseeching vote from an audience gathered to listen to an election speech.

The speech is reportedly a blatant violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) currently under force and Section 123 (3) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 which says: ”Appeals by a candidate, or any other person with the consent of a candidate, to vote or refrain from voting on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community or language is a corrupt electoral practice.”

The MCC further says that “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”.

The 2006 speech by Manmohan Singh had clearly said that “our collective priorities are clear: agriculture, irrigation and water resources, health, education, critical investment in rural infrastructure, and the essential public investment needs of general infrastructure, along with programmes for the upliftment of SC/STs, other backward classes, minorities and women and children.

The component plans for SCs, STs will need to be revitalised. We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslims minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development.

They must have the first claim on resources. The Centre has a myriad other responsibilities whose demands will have to be fitted within the overall resource availability”.

How does Mr. Modi find reference to Muslims having the ‘first claim on the wealth of the nation’ and notion of redistributing it after taking it away from the women and the tribals?

In fact the Congress’ manifesto does not talk in terms of Hindus and Muslims in this country, nor does it talk of snatching the wealth of the Hindu women.

It is unarguable that the speech exceeds all boundaries of communal well-being and is reportedly aimed at promoting animosity between Hindus and Muslims clouding the sense of judgement of the voters and depriving them of a fair and non-partisan view of the issues and concerns that deserve the attention of the electorate.

While Modi’s diatribe against Muslims may be a signal of his exasperation with the inefficacy of communal narrative during the ongoing election campaign due to shifting of focus towards unemployment and exposure of the Central dispensation’s failure to thwart exposure of Electoral Bonds saga, it is unmistakable that the speech, coming as it does from the supreme leader of the ruling party, would vitiate the electoral scene.

It is bound to activate civil society activists with pleas to the Election Commission of India(ECI) to act in the matter and initiate action against the prime minister.

It would require Himalayan courage for the Commission. It is to be seen if the Commission rises upto the occasion to apply the law against the high and the mighty.