Political Parties Spar Over Inheritance Tax in India
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party are engaged in a war of words over the issue of inheritance tax in India. The controversy began when Sam Pitroda, a leader of the Congress party, suggested that the US inheritance tax model could be discussed and debated in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP, responded by accusing the Congress of having "dangerous intentions" to snatch the assets and rights of people. He claimed that the Congress's manifesto included plans for wealth redistribution and inheritance tax.
The Congress party denied these allegations, stating that their manifesto did not mention inheritance tax. They also pointed to speeches by BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Jayant Sinha where they had either spoken of introducing an inheritance tax or extolled its virtues.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, accused the PM of indulging in falsehoods because he knows the election is slipping away from the BJP's grasp. He said that the PM was nervous as the people had come to understand that Modi represented the interests of a handful of billionaires.
The Congress party's manifesto does not mention inheritance tax. However, the party has said that it is committed to a caste census and will return "only a small amount" of the Rs 16 trillion transferred by Modi to select business people to 90 per cent of the population.
The BJP has accused the Congress of trying to please its voters by promising wealth redistribution and inheritance tax. The party has also warned voters to be alert about these leaders, who they maintain are daydreaming like 'Mungerilal ke sapne'.