NEW DELHI, 11 December 2006 — “Misinterpretation” of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks regarding Muslims has generated an “avoidable controversy,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Several parties, particularly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criticized the prime minister’s remarks on minorities, particularly Muslims having the “first claim” on sharing “fruits of development.”
Clarifying the comments made by Manmohan the preceding day while addressing a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC), prime minister’s Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said yesterday: “Through a deliberate and mischievous misinterpretation of what the prime minister said here yesterday at the meeting of the National Development Council, on fiscal priorities of the government, an avoidable controversy has been generated.”
“The prime minister’s observations have also been quoted out of context in some sections of the electronic media, fueling a baseless controversy,” Baru said in a statement released from the PMO.
Baru drew attention to Manmohan’s reference to “first claim on resources” referring to all “priority” areas listed earlier, including programs for uplift of SCs, STs, OBCs, women, children and minorities.
Baru pointed out that Manmohan made these observations after referring to the very good performance of Indian economy in recent months and the expectation that the economy would continue to do well.
BJP chief Rajnath Singh said: “This is very unfortunate, appalling for a prime minister to say so. India’s resources are not to be divided on religious lines. Every Indian, irrespective of his or her religious background, has equal claim on the country’s resources.”
“This is precisely the language used by Mohammad Ali Jinnah before the partition. It is unfortunate our leaders have not learned lessons from the tragic partition. They are pursuing the same politics of religion for electoral benefits,” RSS leader Ram Madhav said.
