2 weeks ago
94
With three days left for the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front rushed to capitalise on accusations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi resorting to “anti-Muslim rhetoric” at a public rally in Rajasthan.
Both fronts accused Mr. Modi of fanning the flames of religious antagonism in straightforward language and dog-whistle messaging. For one, the LDF and the UDF said Mr. Modi’s reference to “people who have more children” was a veiled reference to Muslims.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress moved the Election Commission of India against Mr. Modi and demanded the police prosecute him for “creating enmity” between different groups of people. They also made Mr. Modi’s contentious speech the central piece of their competing campaigns in the poll countdown.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused Mr. Modi of spreading hatred against Muslims by allegedly portraying the community as “infiltrators”. He condemned Mr. Modi “for peddling” anti-Muslim tropes in the thick of a general election.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Congress Working Committee member K.C. Venugopal lashed out at Mr. Modi for making Muslims appear villains. They said the Bharatiya Janata Party had unapologetically embraced a political strategy of hate and division.
Meanwhile, the BJP, which has invested heavily in Mr. Modi’s electoral pull and persona, scrambled to his defence on Monday. The BJP does not perceive the Christian and Muslim communities in Kerala as a monolith that votes instinctively against Mr. Modi. Hence, it arguably made a pitched attempt to divide minority votes.
BJP State president K. Surendran told reporters in Wayanad that Mr. Modi merely pointed out that the Congress manifesto would generate a disparity in resource and benefit-sharing between communities.
“In Kerala, Christians make up 19% of the population. However, the LDF and the UDF have ensured that population-based resource sharing does not apply to Christians as part of their appeasement politics. The ratio of resource sharing between Muslims and Christians is currently 80 to 20,” he said.
The BJP also rushed to point out that Mr. Modi had increased the Haj pilgrimage quota and abolished triple talaq, a Muslim personal law that the Central government deemed unfairly loaded against women.
Mr. Surendran also pointedly targeted the IUML, Congress’ key ally, by accusing the party of not rejecting the ideology that led to India’s partition and creation of Pakistan.
