Congress does not want Indians to pass on property to children: PM

Surguja (Chhattisgarh), Apr 24: Amid a political slugfest over Congress's "wealth redistribution" poll promise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the remarks made by Congress' Sam Pitroda advocating an 'inheritance tax' like law saying that the Congress does not want the countrymen to pass on their property to their children.

"The royal family's prince's advisor has said that more taxes should be imposed on the middle class. Now these people have gone one step further than this, Congress says that it will impose an Inheritance Tax, and it will also impose tax on the inheritance received from parents. The property you have accumulated through your hard work will not be given to your children," the Prime Minister said at an election rally in Surguja. The Prime Minister said that the mantra of the Congress is "Loot zindagi ke sath bhi zindagi ke baad bhi" (Loot, during the lifetime and afterwards).

"The claws of Congress will snatch that too from you. As long as you are alive, Congress will impose higher taxes and when you are no longer alive, it will burden you with Inheritance Tax. Those people who considered the entire Congress party as their ancestral property and handed it over to their children, now do not want Indians to pass on their property to their children," he said.

After the comments snowballed into a controversy Pitroda sought to downplay the issue saying he had only cited inheritance tax in the US as an example.

"Who said 55 per cent will be taken away? Who said something like this should be done in India? Why are the BJP and the media in panic? I mentioned US inheritance tax in the US only as an example in my normal conversation on TV. Can I not mention facts? I said these are the kinds of issues people will have to discuss and debate. This has nothing to do with the policy of any party including Congress," Pitroda said in his post on X.

The Congress officially has distanced itself from Pitroda's comments saying that his remarks do not reflect the view of the party at all times. Continuing the attack on the Congress manifesto, the Prime Minister said that the opposition party has always planned to implement reservation on the basis of religion. (ANI)