Nirmala Sitharaman Casts Vote, Criticizes Congress
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cast her vote at a polling booth in Bengaluru's BEs college on Friday. After voting, she expressed her belief that the people want Prime Minister Modi to continue in office.
"I want more and more people to come out and vote," she said. "I think it is clear that people want a stable government, they want good policies, progress and development and that is why they are coming out. They want to see PM Modi continue his term."
Sitharaman criticized the Congress party for advocating an inheritance tax, stating that it could nullify India's progress over the last decade. She compared it to a similar scheme implemented in 1968, which she argued stifled economic growth.
"If such wealth creators are going to be punished purely because they have some money kept behind, India's progress in the last ten years would just go for a zero," she said. "And we'll probably be going back to that era when Congress imposed a 90 per cent tax."
Sitharaman further argued that the inheritance tax directly impacts the middle class and aspirational class, who save their hard-earned money for investments and homes.
She accused the Congress party of targeting Prime Minister Modi due to their lack of positive agendas. "They have no issue on their own in order to say 'this is what we will do for the people of India, take India forward, bring opportunities for the youth, take India in a global leadership role'," she said. "So they are constantly hitting at the Prime Minister, they are doing personal attacks, and even worse, they are bringing in things that they cannot implement."
The controversy arose after the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda, spoke about the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in America and the need for policy towards wealth redistribution. However, the Congress party has distanced itself from the remarks, stating that they do not reflect the party's position.