India's Modi accused of targeting Muslims in election speech
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00:00Now, India's six-week election is underway, with the second phase of the vote set to take
00:04place this Friday.
00:06Ahead of that, the main opposition has accused the Indian Prime Minister of hate speech.
00:10This after Narendra Modi called India's Muslim minority infiltrators over the weekend.
00:15Take a listen.
00:16Previously, when the Indian National Congress was in power, they said that the first beneficiaries
00:24of the country's wealth are Muslims.
00:28They mean that this wealth will be distributed among those who have more children.
00:37Will the money earned through your hard work be given to infiltrators?
00:41Are you okay with that?
00:43We can now go across to Panvi Mittal, standing by in New Delhi.
00:49Panvi, the opposition says it's seeking action from India's election commission.
00:53Will the body act?
00:56Well, as of now, India's election agency, the election commission, has declined to comment,
01:03even as there are growing calls by opposition leaders and even ordinary citizens to demand
01:09action.
01:10We've learned that more than 17,000 people have written to the agency saying the prime
01:16minister has violated its code of conduct.
01:21Just so we're clear, this code of conduct cannot be legally enforced by the agency,
01:26but it has the power to at least reprimand or even in some cases suspend campaigners.
01:33Now, what was also concerning about the speech was some of the elements in it.
01:39Prime Minister Modi has been accused of perpetuating some of the worst stereotypes about Muslims
01:45in the country.
01:46For example, the comment about infiltrators, that's a stereotype about how Muslims came
01:51to India as invaders back during the Mughal era.
01:55The fact that some of them have come, quote-unquote, illegally from Muslim-majority countries like
02:01Bangladesh.
02:02The comment about having too many children, again, is a stereotype that Muslims are having
02:08children so they can overtake India's Hindu population and become the majority in the
02:14country.
02:15Now, how this case proceeds will also be looked at as a testament to India's institutions,
02:22that whether institutions like the Election Commission that are supposed to be independent
02:26truly are free, or whether they have come under a lot of political pressure or political
02:32influence under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
02:35Panvi, Modi is very popular in the country.
02:39Some polls say over 75 percent, that's his popularity rating.
02:43Other polls also suggest that the BJP is poised to make a comeback.
02:48Then why would the Prime Minister go ahead and make such divisive comments?
02:53Look, the fact of the matter is that the government, the BJP, and Prime Minister Modi's brand of
03:00Hindu nationalism is incredibly popular, and we've seen historically, whether it's in India
03:06or around the world, that this tactic of turning majority against a group of people does help
03:12win elections.
03:13And remember, for the BJP, this election is not about just winning.
03:18It is also about getting a much bigger majority.
03:21And it is important to point out that in a country of about 80 percent Hindus, there
03:27is a strong demand, and a lot of people have bought into the ideals of Hindu nationalism.
03:34There is growing discontent when it comes to the ideals of secularism on which India
03:41was founded.
03:42People do want this to become a Hindu-first country, and there is growing resentment when
03:48it comes to minorities, particularly Muslims.