PM Modi Said ‘Hindu-Muslim’ Not Once, But Many Times in His Election Speeches

In an interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that he did not say 'Hindu or Muslim' in his speech.

In an interview with media organisation News18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that he had never used the words 'Hindu' or 'Muslim' in his campaign speeches, inferring that his speeches didn’t have communal tone. Quint Hindi looked into this claim in detail and found that the claim was not true.

Is the PM's claim true?: PM Modi has used these words plenty of times in his recent speeches. We went through all his speeches from the past week, and found that he had referred to Hindus or Muslims five times.

• Additionally, since polling began on 19 April, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) official social media accounts have also used the words Hindu and Muslim several times.

What did PM Modi say?: In the interview with News18, anchor Rubika Liyaquat asks, "When you spoke about Muslims on stage, you referred to them as infiltrators, as people who have many children. What was the need for that?"

To this, he replies, "I am astonished, ji. Who said this? When we talk about people with more children, Muslims get linked with it. Why do you do this injustice with Muslims? They are not able to educate their children. Regardless of community, wherever there is poverty, there are more children."

In her next question, the anchor asks, "So you're saying that Muslims and the point about people having more children are not connected?" Responding to this query, PM Modi says, "I have neither mentioned Hindu nor Muslim. I just said that have as many children as you can take care of. Don't have so many that the state has to care for them."

At the 18:05-minute mark, he says, "The day I start doing 'Hindu-Muslim', I will be unfit for public life."

Let us look at the recent speeches of the Prime Minister, in which he is heard saying 'Hindu' or 'Muslim'.

In Hajipur, Bihar on 13 May 2024

At the 9:25-minute mark, PM Modi says,

"The priority of RJD-Congress is not you people, but their own vote bank. Now you must have heard that the person who brought 'Jungle Raj' to Bihar, who has been convicted by the court in the fodder scam, has been considered guilty. He said that Muslims should be given reservation, that too in full. That means that all the reservation that was set for Dalits, backward classes and tribals, will be given only to Muslims."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hajipur

In Saran, Bihar on 13 May 2024

Around 23 minutes into his speech, PM Modi accused the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of snatching reservations from backward classes and giving them to Muslims.

"I had also challenged Congress on this issue. I had said, Congress should give it in writing that they will not distribute SC, ST, OBC reservations among Muslims in the country. They will not impose reservation on the basis of religion. It's been three weeks today. The mouths of Congress and its allies are sealed. RJD's people are also beating around the bush, but are not rejecting the promises and intentions of Congress. Therefore, today I give a guarantee to every backward, every Dalit, every tribal of Bihar, no matter how hard these 'Jungle Raj' people and Congress people try, Modi will not allow the reservation of Dalits and backward people to be looted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Saran

In Howrah, West Bengal on 12 May 2024

At the 19:47-minute mark, PM Modi said,

"TMC MLAs openly threaten Hindus. They say that there are less Hindus left here, we will drown the Hindus in Bhagirathi. TMC defends that too, justifies it. Such an open game of appeasement, such an inhuman face.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Howrah

In Barrackpore, West Bengal on 12 May 2024

In this speech, after 11:14 minutes, the Prime Minister alleges that Hindus have been made second class citizens in West Bengal. Further, he also accuses the opposition of give reservations alloted for backward communities, to Muslims.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said,

"These people have made Hindus second class citizens in Bengal. Friends, in its insistence on appeasement, now INDI Alliance wants to take away the reservation given to SC-ST-OBC. These people are saying that this reservation should now be given to Muslims. And that too not half-heartedly, not just a little, complete reservation should be given to Muslims. Do you agree with this? Will you accept it?"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Barrackpore

In Nandurbar, Maharashtra on 10 May 2024

At the 28:30-minute mark in his speech in Nandurbar, PM Modi says, "All the Muslims in Karnataka were made OBC overnight and an order was issued. The Chief Minister stamped. The biggest part of the reservation that OBCs get was looted by those who became OBCs overnight."

'Hindu' and 'Muslim' on BJP's Official Social Media Accounts

When we checked the social media handles of BJP, we noticed that the words Hindu and Muslim had been used many times in their posts. Most of the times, the words Hindu and Muslim were used in these posts while sharing the Prime Minister's speech. Let us see examples.

(Swipe to view examples.)

BJP Uttar Pradesh (@BJP4UP)

BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka)

BJP Maharashtra (@BJP4Maharashtra)

Quint Hindi has reached out the the Prime Minister's Office regarding this claim. This article will be updated accordingly.

Conclusion: It is clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that he has not said Hindu and Muslim in his speeches is not true.

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