Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

New Delhi  – The principal opposition party in India has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of employing hate speech by referring to Muslims as “infiltrators,” which is considered to be one of his most inflammatory statements toward the religious minority. This comes only days after the commencement of the country’s lengthy general election.

The comments made at a political event on Sunday received strong condemnation, with some accusing Modi of promoting negative stereotypes about Muslims. The Congress party lodged a protest on Monday with the Election Commission of India, accusing him of violating regulations that prohibit candidates from participating in any action that exacerbates religious tensions.

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Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

Detractors of the prime minister, who openly identifies as a Hindu nationalist, argue that India’s longstanding values of diversity and secularism have been threatened since his Bharatiya Janata Party came into office ten years ago. The party is accused of promoting religious intolerance and occasionally even inciting violence. The party refutes the claim and asserts that its policies are advantageous to all citizens of India.

During a rally in Rajasthan, Modi asserted that while the Congress party held power, they claimed that Muslims had the primary entitlement to the nation’s resources.” Should the party regain power, it would collect all of your riches and redistribute it among individuals who have a greater number of children,” he stated, eliciting applause from the audience.

“They will allocate it to individuals who have infiltrated,” he said, questioning, “Do you believe that your diligently earned funds should be bestowed upon infiltrators?”

Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress party, characterized the prime minister’s remarks as “hate speech,” while party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi deemed them “profoundly objectionable.”

The party requested intervention from the electoral commission, which has a rule of conduct that prohibits candidates from making appeals based on caste or sectarian sentiments in order to obtain votes. The six-week election’s preliminary voting took place on Friday, and most polls indicate that Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP will win. The results will be released on June 4th.

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Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

Asaduddin Owaidi, a Muslim legislator and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen party, stated on Sunday that Prime Minister Modi has consistently targeted and insulted Muslims for political gain since 2002.

Rights groups argue that under Modi’s leadership, attacks against minorities in India, particularly Muslims, have gotten increasingly audacious, exacerbating the existing tensions between the Hindu majority and the Muslim community.

Hindu mobs have carried out acts of lynching against Muslims based on accusations of consuming beef or engaging in cow smuggling, an activity that is considered sacred by Hindus. Muslim businesses have faced economic boycotts, their houses and establishments have been demolished, and their places of worship have been intentionally set ablaze. There have been explicit calls for the extermination of their whole population.

Modi’s comments alluded to a statement made in 2006 by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress party. Singh asserted that it is imperative for India’s lower castes, tribes, women, and specifically the Muslim minority, to have an equitable role in the nation’s progress.

Singh asserted that they should be given priority access to resources. Twenty-four hours later, his office provided clarification that Singh’s statement encompassed all marginalized demographics.

The Congress party, in its plea to the electoral commission, alleged that Modi and the BJP had consistently used religion and religious symbols and sentiments in their election campaign without facing any consequences. “The commission’s failure to penalize the prime minister and the BJP for their clear violations of electoral laws has further strengthened these actions,” the statement stated.

“Modi has diminished the prestige of his position more than any other prime minister in the history of India,” stated Kharge, the head of the Congress party, on the social networking platform X.

The panel has the authority to issue warnings and temporarily suspend candidates for infractions of the code of conduct.

“We refuse to provide a statement,” a representative for the commission informed the Press Trust of India news agency on Monday.

During his speech, Modi reiterated a Hindu nationalist narrative that suggests Muslims are surpassing the Hindu population through higher birth rates. The Hindu population in India constitutes 80% of the total population of 1.4 billion, whereas the Muslim population, at 200 million, accounts for 14%. According to official statistics, the fertility rates of Muslims have experienced the most significant decline compared to other religious groups in recent decades. The rate has decreased from 4.4 in 1992-93 to 2.3 between 2019–21, which is slightly higher than the fertility rate of Hindus at 1.94.

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Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Modi has previously labeled Muslims as infiltrators and portrayed them as undocumented immigrants who entered India from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Several states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have enacted legislation that imposes limitations on interfaith marriage, citing the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory of “love jihad,” which alleges that Muslim males exploit marriage as a means to convert Hindu women.

Throughout the entire period, Modi has predominantly refrained from speaking out, which opponents argue has encouraged a faction of his most radical followers and facilitated an increase in hate speech targeting Muslims.

SOURCE – (AP)