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Modi Dismisses Wealth Redistribution as ‘Urban Naxal’ Thought

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The much-discussed inheritance tax is being promoted by the Congress party, but the BJP has no plans to implement or consider it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday in an exclusive interview during the intense Lok Sabha election campaign.

The prime minister said: “When one of their leaders gave an interview in America where he brought up the issue of inheritance tax, about 55 percent tax on your property. Now I am talking about development and inheritance and they are talking about taking away that inheritance. Their history so far is about doing what they have mentioned in their manifesto. It is my responsibility to tell the countrymen that they are taking the country in this direction. Now you decide whether you want to go that way or not. But it is my responsibility to tell you the truth based on facts.”

PM Modi, clearing up the BJP’s stance on inheritance tax, said the BJP’s ideology was clear. “What the Bharatiya Janata Party plans to do is written in our manifesto. Why would you even think that we would carry forward their plan? The ideology of the BJP is clear. We go before the country with our manifesto and work. Please don’t impose their grand thoughts on us,” he told News18, referring to Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s recent remarks.

Pitroda, the US-based president of the Congress’s overseas wing, caused controversy when he spoke about inheritance tax in the US while discussing the issue of redistributing wealth. His comments provided ammunition to the BJP and saw the Congress party rushing to distance itself from the remarks.

Inheritance tax is a tax levied on the total value of money and property of a deceased person before it is distributed to their legal heirs. India currently has no such system.

The prime minister also shared his views on the Congress manifesto, his vision for the country’s future, and the BJP’s election strategy. The full interview will be aired on News18 channels and digital platforms at 9pm on Monday, April 29.

The prime minister, when asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement on conducting an X-ray or a socio-economic survey to identify which sections are behind and will redistribute wealth accordingly, termed it an “urban Naxal” thought.

“X-ray means raiding every household. If any woman has hidden gold where she stores grains, even that will be X-rayed. The jewels will be taken away. Land records will be scrutinized. And these will be redistributed. This Maoist ideology has never helped the world. This is an entirely ‘Urban Naxal’ thought,” the prime minister said.

He added: “This is why the group, which usually keeps writing, kept quiet about the manifesto even after 10 days, because it will help them. They kept quiet to protect them. It then becomes my responsibility to wake up the country to the fact that they are planning to loot you. The next part is, Dr. Manmohan Singh has said clearly who has the first right to the country’s resources. They have clearly stated their intentions.”

Criticizing the manifesto of the Congress party, the prime minister asked if the manifestos of political parties during elections should be a “mere showpiece”.

“I had commented on the manifesto on the first day. After seeing the manifesto, I feel that it has the stamp of the Muslim League. I thought that the media will be shocked. But they just kept saying whatever was presented by the Congress,” PM Modi said. He added: “I waited for 10 days that the evils in the manifesto would be brought out by someone or the other because if it is brought out in an unbiased manner, it is good. Finally, I was forced to bring out these truths.”

Talking about the economic and banking reforms that the government has been able to undertake in the last 10 years, the prime minister said: “We opened 52 crore bank accounts, and I took the biggest advantage of it. I took the trinity of Jan Dhan, mobile and Aadhaar and encouraged Direct Benefit Transfer. A sum of Rs 36 lakh crore — the figure is very big — has gone into people’s accounts [via Direct Benefit Transfer]. This huge financial inclusion has happened in our country [due to opening of accounts]. This is more than the number of accounts that would have opened in the world in a year. There is Jal Jeevan Mission in our country. In India, 3-4 percent of the villages would get water from taps in their homes, that too in urban areas. Today, tap water has reached 14 crore rural households.”

PM Modi said the developmental work helped 25 crore people come out of poverty. “We have empowered them. My strategy is that we give so much strength to the poor, so much power, that the poor themselves overcome poverty. And when the poor overcome poverty with their hard work, after that they do not want to go back to poverty. It becomes a commitment, and they become the strength of the country,” the prime minister told News18.

“Today, we are benefiting as 25 crore people have come out of poverty. It is a very big achievement, the world is praising it, and this will become a model for the developing countries. You see, what was the situation before 2014? ‘Fragile 5’ used to be the headline. Today, we have become a vibrant economy,” he said.

The prime minister, while sharing statistics, said in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there is a group of 150 countries of the world — which includes China and India — which can be called developing countries or countries with an emerging economy.

“They analyzed such a group by classifying them together. It is a very interesting observation. In 1998, India’s per capita GDP was around 30 percent, compared to others in the peer group. At that time, Atal ji’s government was in power. From 1998 to 2004, Atal ji took this figure from 30 percent to 35 percent. It was good progress. But unfortunately, in 2004, this multi-party government came and ruined the work of Atal ji. They brought the number down from 35 percent to 30 percent. All these countries [in the peer group] performed better than India. During the multi-party regime, India became poorer compared to the other countries in the developing world. Those poorer than us went ahead.”

He added: “But in 2014, after the formation of the government, till 2019, you will be happy to know that we took the figure to 37 percent. And when I reached the year 2024, this figure was 42 percent. That means our income has grown very fast as compared to other countries of the world. If you look at the inflation rate in the period of ten years, which is discussed so much, then these ten years have seen the lowest inflation. What I am saying is on the basis of reality. We have achieved this after a lot of hard work. We have mobilized the entire government, and we have put in our best efforts to achieve the target. Despite that, what does Modi say? Modi says this is just a trailer, I have to go further. I want to move very fast, taking the country along with me.”

Shifting his focus to the BJP’s regional aspirations, PM Modi said the people of Karnataka were regretting electing the Congress.

“Our public support has not gone down; in fact, it has increased. But, in such a short time, they still have unresolved issues like the post of chief minister. While the CM has taken oath, it has not been settled who it really is. If you look at the law-and-order situation, there are riots and murders taking place; the economic condition is in a state of complete bankruptcy. The deputy CM is asking for votes for his brother so that he can become chief minister. So everyone is playing games. So far as the BJP is concerned, we are working with team spirit even if my team was defeated.”

Taking a dig at the state government’s inability to quench Karnataka’s thirst, PM Modi said: “Look at Bengaluru, it has played a big role in raising India’s reputation across the world. Bengaluru used to be known as the tech hub and now, in no time, it has been turned into a tanker hub. And tankers also have a mafia culture. People are yearning for water.”

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