Rajiv Gandhi abolished inheritance law so he could get Indira's property: PM Modi's new line of attack on Congress

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Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi "abolished the inheritance law that existed earlier to save his property" after his mother Indira Gandhi passed away, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, as he continued his attack on the Congress.

Modi, speaking in Madhya Pradesh's Morena region, said that when "Prime Minister of the country, Indira Ji, was no more, the property that she had was supposed to go to her children".

"Earlier, there was a law that before it went to them, the government used to take a share of it. The Congress had already made such a law and there was widespread discussion at the time. And when Indira Ji was no more and her son Rajiv Gandhi was supposed to get the property… what did he do? To save that property he got from his mother Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi himself abolished the inheritance law that existed earlier to save his property and save that money," Modi said.

Inheritance tax became a political flashpoint after Congress leader Sam Pitroda said such a concept could be debated in India. Modi referred to the remarks during his speech in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, suggesting that the Congress had its eyes on the wealth of all Indians.

On Thursday, he said that "once the (Indira-Rajiv) matter was settled there, today again out of greed for power, these people want to bring back that same law with more stringency".

"After acquiring the wealth of four generations of their family, now these people want to loot your inheritance, the income you have saved for your children, by imposing a tax on it. That is why the country is witnessing the loot of the Congress, during one's life and even after one's life," Modi said.

He also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, referring to him as the shahzada of the royal family who wants to conduct an X-ray across the country.

"Now there will be an X-ray of your property and whatever is kept in your almirah… whatever is kept in the locker will be searched by X-ray, whatever income you earn, the stree dhan that our mothers and sisters have… be it a mangalsutra or small gold or silver jewelry, which is considered sacred, the Congress is publicly announcing that it will confiscate it and distribute it to strengthen its vote bank. I had said on the first day that their manifesto is a complete reflection of the thinking of the Muslim League," he said.

In response to the PM's comments, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Yesterday the PM claimed that Congress wanted to impose an Inheritance Tax. Once it became clear that it was actually the BJP that has been propagating an Inheritance Tax, he switched lanes."

"Once again, his lies stand unraveled. Here is the paragraph from then-Finance Minister VP Singh's budget speech of March 16th, 1985, which proposed the abolition of estate duty. Paragraph 88 of the speech states the reasons clearly: As both wealth-tax and estate duty laws apply to the property of a person, the former applying to his property before death and the latter after his death, the existence of two separate laws with reference to the same property amounts to procedural harassment to the taxpayers and the heirs of the deceased who have to comply with the provisions of two different laws. Having considered the relative merits of the two taxes, I am of die view that estate duty has not achieved the twin objectives with which it was introduced, namely, to reduce unequal distribution of wealth and assist the States in financing their development schemes. While the yield from estate duty is only about Rs.20 crores, its cost of administration is relatively high. I, therefore, propose to abolish the levy of estate duty in respect of estates passing on deaths occurring on or after 16th March, 1985. I will come forward in due course with suitable legislation for this purpose," he said.

"Incidentally, Indira Gandhi gave away her ancestral property in Allahabad way back in 1970 to the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. Every time he opens his mouth to speak, the Prime Minister provides fresh evidence of his meanness, pettiness, and his steadfast adherence to lies," he said.