On PM Modi's "Insulted Maharajas" Remark, Congress' "Malicious Twist" Retort

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over what he called insulting India's rajas and maharajas, but remaining silent on the atrocities committed by nawabs, nizams, sultans and badshahs for the sake of appeasement politics.

The Congress hit back, saying PM Modi "maliciously twists" every statement of Mr Gandhi to inflame communal prejudices and passions.

Addressing back-to-back rallies in Karnataka's Belagavi, Sirsi, Davangere and Hosapete, PM Modi continued his attack against the Congress on the "inheritance tax" issue and targeted the party's government in Karnataka on law and order, corruption and development issues.

"The BJP is working on increasing the assets of the people, but Congress's shehzada and his sister, both are announcing that if they come to power, they will do an X-ray of the country," PM Modi said.

"They will X-ray your property, bank lockers, lands, vehicles, also streedhan and ornaments of women, gold, the mangalsutra. These people will raid every house and capture your assets. After capturing, they are talking about redistributing it, they want it to give it to their loved vote bank... will you allow this loot to happen?" PM Modi said.

"I want to warn the Congress," he said, "Let go of this intention. Until Modi is alive, I will not allow it..."

Hitting back at PM Modi, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Prime Minister has "gone beyond being pathetic".

"He maliciously and mischievously twists every statement of Rahul Gandhi to inflame, incite and ignite communal prejudices and passions," Mr Ramesh said in a post on the microblogging website X. "His (PM Modi's) exit is inevitable and his realisation of that is making him more and more desperate. His campaign speeches are shameful really," Mr Ramesh said.

The Congress today also attacked the BJP over Home Minister Amit Shah's quota remarks in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that the Modi government has used privatisation as a "weapon" to weaken reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the past 10 years.

The Congress alleged the secret behind the BJP's "400 paar" slogan is that they will try to end reservation this time.

The Congress's attack came after Mr Shah at a rally in UP said the BJP will neither remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so, calling it a "Modi guarantee".

Five of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections are pending. Votes will be counted on June 4.