Opposition eyeing people's property: Indian PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today repeated that the opposition party and the opposition INDIA bloc were "eyeing people's earnings and property".

The comment came a day after he sparked a row by stating that a Congress government would distribute the nation's wealth among "infiltrators".

Addressing a rally in Aligarh, he said "Congress shehzada [Rahul Gandhi] says that they will investigate who earns how much, how much property you have, how much money you have, how many houses you have. He further says that the government will take possession of this property and distribute it to everyone… Our mothers and sisters have gold. This is stri dhan, it is considered sacred, law also protects it. Their eyes are on your mangalsutra [sacred symbol of married Hindu women]."

Modi claimed Congress' manifesto says they will calculate the gold that our mothers and sisters have, get information about it and then distribute that property, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"I want to warn my countrymen. Congress and INDIA bloc have their eyes on your earnings and your property. If you have an ancestral home in your village and you also purchase a small flat in your city for future of your children, they will take away one of the two. This is Maoist thinking, this is the thinking of Communists. By doing this, many countries have been ruined. Now Congress and INDI alliance want to implement the same policy in India," the PM added.

Reacting to Modi's remarks today, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said the party filed a petition with the EC against the PM's remarks. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has sought an appointment with Modi to "educate him" about his party's manifesto.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission declined to comment on remarks made by Modi in his poll speech at a rally in Rajasthan's Banswara yesterday. "We decline to comment," a poll panel spokesperson said on queries.