'Hand of foreign forces in Congress manifesto': Anurag Thakur

NEW DELHI: Following the completion of Phase 2 of the

Lok Sabha election

, the BJP has started tightening its grip around Congress's manifesto. Union minister

Anurag Thakur

during a public rally on Saturday claimed that '

foreign forces

were involved in making the Congress party's election promises.'
Thakur said that these forces wanted to give away the property of people's children to Muslims, get rid of the country's nuclear weapons, and divide the nation based on caste and region.

"In the

Congress manifesto

, along with the hand of the Congress, hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children's property to Muslims, finish the nations nuclear weapons, divide the nation on casteism and regionalism," Anurag Thakur said.

He also said that the Congress has been influenced by certain groups who want to break up the country. Thakur asked people to decide whether they want to keep their property or give it to Muslims.
This criticism comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders accused the Congress of planning to take away people's wealth and give it to Muslims. The PM claimed that the Congress-led government in the past had said that Muslims should get the first share of the country's resources. These remarks have caused a lot of controversy, with some people criticizing the PM for using negative terms for Muslims and others criticizing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged statements.

Thakur further added, "The 'Tukde-tukde' gang has surrounded Congress completely and has hijacked their ideology... You have to decide whether you want to go with Congress' 'Tukde-tukde' gang or Narendra Modi who believes in 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat'. You have to decide whether the children's property should remain with them or should it go to Muslims. We gave all rights to Muslims, equally... But we did not give it based on religion, we gave it because it was their right... When Rajiv Gandhi became the PM, there was a law that 55% of property would go to the government, but he abolished this law and saved his property. Now, Rahul Gandhi did not get married so he wants to take away your children's property. Gandhi family does whatever suits them..."
The BJP's party chief JP Nadda supported the PM's statements and criticised the Congress for what he called "appeasement politics". He said that while the BJP doesn't want Muslims to be ignored, they shouldn't take advantage of others unfairly. Nadda also accused the Congress of having a biased approach and claimed that their election promises favored Muslims, which the PM likened to the policies of the Muslim League.
Thakur and Nadda's comments came after the Election Commission sent notices to both the BJP and the Congress based on complaints about their leaders' speeches. The notices warned both parties to maintain a higher standard of discussion during election campaigns and to avoid making statements that could create division.