In a bold move against the Congress regarding the contentious issue of the ‘inheritance tax’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing criticism on Thursday, attributing the abolition of the inheritance law to former PM Rajiv Gandhi, suggesting it was done “to save their own interests” following the demise of his mother, Indira Gandhi.
During a series of election rallies in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi revealed what he termed an “interesting fact” for the nation. He recounted, “When Mrs. Indira Gandhi passed away, her property was supposed to go to her children. Had the previous law been in place, the government would have taken a portion of it. At that time, there was a talk that to save the property, her son and then Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi) simply abolished the inheritance law. When it came to their own interests, they removed the law,” said Prime Minister Modi.
Highlighting the present scenario, PM Modi accused the Congress of aiming to revive the same legislation, driven by a lust for power. He asserted, “Today, driven by the greed for power once again, these people want to reintroduce the same law. After accumulating limitless wealth for generations without taxes on their families, now they want to impose taxes on your inheritance. That’s why the country is saying ‘Congress ki loot, zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi’."
Later in the day, PM Modi addressed crowds in Agra and Aonla, reiterating his stance that the Congress would establish a “dangerous precedent” by implementing an inheritance tax.
“The Congress-SP and INDI Alliance plans to impose a 55 per cent tax on your inheritance. This means they’ll seize a significant portion of what you leave for your children. If you build a four-room house, only two rooms will go to your children, and the rest shall be seized by Congress-SP.
“Similarly, if you own 10 bighas of land, only five bighas will be inherited by your children, the rest will be confiscated by Congress-SP. Are you ready to surrender your property to them,” he asked.
Accusing the Congress of plotting a “deep conspiracy” PM Modi continued, “One of the Congress leaders is talking about conducting an X-ray of people’s assets across the country. Whatever you earn, the Mangalsutra, gold, and silver that our mothers and sisters have, Congress wants to seize them and distribute them among their vote bank supporters. Even the wealth left after you leave this world won’t go to your sons and daughters. Congress wants to snatch more than half of your earnings. For this, Congress wants to impose an inheritance tax on you."
Responding to the uproar caused by Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax in America, Jairam Ramesh clarified the Congress stance, asserting that the party's 2024 manifesto does not mention it.
“I want to clarify one thing. There is no mention of Inheritance Tax in our manifesto, it is not our agenda. The truth is, in 1985, PM Rajiv Gandhi abolished the Inheritance Tax. We never mentioned anything about Inheritance Tax and it is not part of our agenda,” Ramesh said.
While the Congress attempted to mitigate the fallout and distance itself from Pitroda’s statement, the BJP seized the opportunity to unveil what it sees as the “true intentions” of the Congress.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of consistently neglecting the upliftment of India’s underprivileged communities.
“The idea of ‘survey’ was initially introduced in the Congress manifesto. During his tenure as the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh stated that minorities have the primary claim on the country’s resources. Such ideology has long been associated with the Congress legacy. Now, Sam Pitroda, drawing parallels with America, has advocated for discussions on wealth distribution and the implementation of inheritance tax,” Amit Shah said.
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