Debate over inheritance tax dominates electoral discourse
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized on comments of Indian Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda, who said that the idea of an inheritance tax should be debated
The debate over inheritance tax and redistribution of wealth has overshadowed the divisive electoral rhetoric. Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized on comments of Indian Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda, who said that the idea of an inheritance tax should be debated and discussed. He accused the Opposition party of intending to grab the wealth of people accumulated through hard work, and taxing them even “after death”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government advocated an inheritance tax in the past. He pointed to comments of former BJP minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha and former finance minister Arun Jaitley in 2018. Ramesh said Jaitley praised the concept for “spurring large endowments to hospitals, and universities in the West”. “Over to you Prime Minister Modi- what is your party’s stance on this issue,” Ramesh said on X.
Pawar attacks Modi
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar lashed out at Modi, saying his attacks on one community in his speeches were unacceptable and shameful. “His statement is shameful as he is the prime minister of the country, who is expected to lead all and ensure everyone’s interest, but he is talking so bad about a community,” 83-year-old Pawar, who heads the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction of the party, said at a campaign rally in support of Shiv Sena (UBT) Anant Geete in Raigad late on Tuesday.
Geete is running against the incumbent Member of Parliament Sunil Tatkare, who shifted his allegiance to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar when the NCP split in July last year.
Tejashwi Yadav wades into mangalsutra debate
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday hit out at Modi over his mangalsutra remark as he reminded him of lives lost during the Covid pandemic, the Pulwama terror attack, and during clashes with Chinese troops at the border. Talking to reporters in Patna, Bihar’s former deputy chief minister said, “The prime minister should tell us who is responsible for ‘mangalsutras’ being snatched (a metaphor for widowhood) from so many women during the outbreak of Covid, after demonetisation, in the Pulwama terror attack and skirmishes with Chinese troops along the border.”
KCR bus yatra
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday commenced his 17-day long bus yatra to campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha elections in the state scheduled to be held on May 13. “The bus yatra will continue non-stop for 17 days and conclude with a public rally at Siddipet on May 10. During the yatra, the BRS chief will address road shows and meetings in as many as 40 towns covering various parliamentary constituencies in the state,” the BRS said in a statement.
ED blames Kejriwal
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there were not any “malafide or extraneous reasons” behind Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. In its reply to Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest, the agency claimed Kejriwal had what it called “non-co-operative attitude”. “The accused, by his conduct, has himself contributed and aided the investigating officer regarding the existence of the necessity to arrest, apart from the material in possession of the IO, to form the satisfaction that the petitioner is guilty of the offence of money laundering,” the agency said in its affidavit to the Supreme Court.