Are Narendra Modi’s remarks against Muslims sign of “desperation”?

The harsh remarks against the Muslims immediately after the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls by Prime Minister Modi is being seen as an attempt to polarise the polls and divide the society on religious lines.

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s remarks at an election rally in Rajasthan‘s Banswara on Sunday where he alleged that the Congress plans to give people’s hard-earned money and valuables to “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”, is being seen as his “desperation” and “fear of defeat” in the Lok Sabha polls by opposition parties and political analysts.

The harsh remarks against the Muslims immediately after the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls by Prime Minister Modi is being seen as an attempt to polarise the polls and divide the society on religious lines. Political analysts believe that the disappointment in the first phase of voting could have forced Modi to make such comments against the minority community.

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Though Modi had been targeting the Muslims during his election speeches, it was only confined to criticising the appeasing politics, however, on Sunday he attacked the Congress as a party that favoured the minorities, taking out of context, to make that point, a remark by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while making the case that the most deprived sections of society should have the first claim on the nation’s resources.

“Why did Modi resort to such tactics?”, “Is he worried that his party would not get the numbers he needs to form the next government?”, ” Has the fear of defeat forced him to throw political decency to the winds and resort to such a campaign against the Muslims?”, are the questions that are being hotly debated now.

Surprisingly, after facing backlash from the opposition parties for his remarks, the very next day Prime Minister Modi attempted to mend the damage during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh by highlighting his contribution in facilitating Indian Muslims’ pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. He addressed Muslim women as mothers and sisters. In the speech, Modi highlighted the increase in the Haj quota for Indian Muslims and the ease in the visa process for pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.

“Earlier, due to less Haj quota, there used to be a lot of fighting and bribery was also prevalent there and only the influential people would get the chance to go to Haj. I had requested the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to increase the Haj quota for our Muslim brothers and sisters in India. Today, not only has India’s Haj quota increased but visa rules have also been made easier. Earlier our Muslim mothers and sisters could not go alone for Haj. The government also allowed women to go for Haj without ‘Mahram’ and I am being blessed by thousands of sisters whose dream of going for Haj has been fulfilled,”he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition has made the Prime Minister’s remarks an election issue and is trying to corner the party. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said no prime minister had lowered the dignity of the post as much as Modi. The “panic-stricken” speech by Modi indicates that the INDIA block is taking the lead in the first phase of the elections, he said.