Rajiv abolished inheritance tax for Indira's wealth: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stepped up his attack on the Congress and said he was standing as a wall between the people and the grand old party's plans to loot them.

Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Morena city, Modi said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had abolished the inheritance tax after his mother Indira Gandhi's death to save her wealth from going to the government.

After benefitting from it, the Congress now wants to impose it again on the people of the country, he said.

If the Congress comes to power, it will snatch more than half of the earnings of the people through inheritance tax, he said.

A day after Rahul Gandhi's remark that those who call themselves "deshbhakt" are scared of the 'X-ray' of caste census, Modi said the Congress wants to confiscate people's jewellery and small savings by conducting an X-ray of their properties and valuables.

"Listen with your ears wide open about the sins that the Congress has committed. I want to put forth an interesting fact. When sister Indira Gandhi passed away, there was a law by virtue of which half portion of the wealth used to go to the government. There were talks then that Indiraji willed her wealth in her son Rajiv Gandhi's name," he said.

"To save the money going to the government, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax," Modi said.

The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.

An adviser to the opposition party's 'shehzada' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) has now suggested imposition of inheritance tax, he said seizing on Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks amid the row on the issue of wealth redistribution.

As long as the BJP is there, it will not allow such designs to succeed, the PM said.

"The wealth that you have accumulated by working hard and enduring hardships will be looted from you once a Congress-led government is formed," he said.

"Modi is standing as a wall between you and the Congress' plan to loot you," the prime minister said.

For the BJP, nothing is bigger than the country, while for the Congress, its own family is the major criterion, Modi said apparently referring to dynastic politics.

The Congress wants to snatch reservation of the SCs/STs/OBCs and the downtrodden for the sake of its Muslim vote bank, he said.

It was bent upon grabbing power with religious appeasement by spoiling the future of the people, the PM said.

"The Congress says Muslims have the first right on the country's resources, while I am saying that the poor have the first fight on it," he said.

Congress party is a very big anti-development problem. It put Madhya Pradesh in line with other 'Bimaru' states in the country, he said.

For years, the Congress did not allow 'One Rank One Pension' scheme for the armed forces, but "we did it", he said.

The Congress has been hatching a conspiracy to deprive the tribals and backward classes of their rights for many years, the PM said hitting out at the opposition party.

"Will you ensure a total washout of those snatching the rights of backward classes?" he asked the gathering.

The BJP government provided free ration to 80 crore people without any discrimination on the basis of religious lines, Modi said.

"Have you ever heard that someone is not getting free ration just because he is a Muslim?" the PM said.

When the Constitution was drafted, it was decided that for the unity and integrity of the country, reservation won't be extended on religious lines, he said.

Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, was against reservation on religious lines, but the Congress gave it through the backdoor and "stabbed" him in the back, he said.

Further targeting the Congress, Modi said it put many Muslims illegally in the OBC list in Karnataka.

It signed a paper declaring them OBC overnight and extending them reservation in education and government jobs clandestinely, he added.

The reservation to Muslims was unlawful and against the Constitution, he said.

"This action of the Congress is an alarm bell for the OBC communities of the entire country," he said.

Referring to border security, Modi said, "We have asked our jawans to fire ten bullets in reply to one."

He said the Congress was indulging in different games to get the chair anyhow by playing with the future of people.

The Congress manifesto talks about religion-based reservation in jobs and education and it is influenced by the Muslim League, Modi said.

"The Congress chief minister of Telangana has just said that he will ensure reservation for Muslims," he said.

When a Congress-led government had been formed at the Centre, it first introduced religion-based quota in Andhra Pradesh, Modi said.

"The Congress was not completely successful in its plan then, but it still wants to play that game," he added.

Addressing the rally in support of his party's Morena Lok Sabha seat candidate Shivmangal Singh Tomar, Modi raised the slogan "phir ek baar BJP sarkar."

Polling in the Morena Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 7.