Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Congress will confiscate two-thirds of assets belonging to salaried class, professionals and business owners for redistribution to the poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Wealth Redistribution Scheme, according to the party’s manifesto.
Fact
No such “wealth redistribution” scheme in the manifesto, viral claim is false.
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi doubled down on his claim that the Congress party would snatch the people’s wealth and distribute it among select people, whom he had called “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”, social media saw several users lend their support to the PM’s statement that has triggered a political firestorm.
Multiple users, including verified accounts, have claimed that, according to the Congress manifesto, the party “will be confiscating two-thirds of your [salaried class, professionals and business owners] assets for redistribution to the poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Wealth Redistribution Scheme”.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker first went through the newspaper clipping of the column shared by the users, where the author, personal finance writer Monika Halan, talks about the Congress’s wealth redistribution promise.
“We will do a caste census so that the backwards, SCs, STs, poor of general castes and minorities get to know how much they account for in the country. After that, we will do a financial and institutional survey to find who holds the country’s wealth, what section holds it, and then we will undertake revolutionary work. Whatever is your right, we will work on giving you the same. Be it media, bureaucracy, or all institutions — we will create space for you there and give you your right,” Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said on April 6, 2024, in Hyderabad, during the release of the party’s manifesto.
Halan poses several questions pertaining to this promise, including whether —
- The redistribution, according to the survey, will be considered in income or wealth?
- Will it be all assets or just financial assets?
- Will the survey extend to all communities, or will minorities get an exemption from their land getting mapped?
- Will ancestral real estate and wealth be included?
- Will residential real estate be part of the redistribution?
- Will it be a one-time exercise?
According to Halan, the questions are being raised so that “a vote can be cast with full information on the historic move” as it is unlikely that such a “massive game-changing idea will be just a half-baked election promise”. The column, dated April 16, was published by the Hindustan Times. At no point in the article did the writer state that the Congress will be confiscating two-thirds of assets belonging to the salaried class, professionals and business owners for redistribution to the poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Wealth Redistribution Scheme, as claimed. We reached out to Halan for her comment regarding the claims and will update this copy once we receive a response.
Newschecker then came across PTI’s report that was published by major media outlets, seen here, here and here, stating that the Congress on Tuesday (April 23) complained to the Election Commission and sought action against the BJP alleging that the ruling party was spreading confusion and angst among the salaried professionals and the middle class over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks about equitable development of society.
In a complaint to the chief election commissioner, All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) head and one of the key architects of the Congress manifesto, Praveen Chakravarty, reportedly said, “There is a wilful and deliberate attempt to stoke confusion, havoc and angst among the salaried professionals and the middle class through misinformation and lies.”
“Chakravarty also complained to the EC against an individual along with his phone number who forwarded the message to the professionals on WhatsApp which says that the Congress party manifesto promises to ‘confiscate two-thirds of your assets for redistribution to the poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Wealth Redistribution Scheme’. Terming the claims as ‘utterly false’, Chakravarty said the Congress party’s manifesto makes no such promise anywhere,” according to the report.
We then came across this MoneyControl interview, dated April 23, 2024, where Chakravarty responds to the allegations against the Congress’s manifesto.
Expanding on the “wealth redistribution” comment and the Congress manifesto, Chakravarty, told MoneyControl that “jitni abadi utna haq” is not a new idea, the phrase, roughly translating into rights of any group are proportionate to its population share, having been used by Gandhi in 2022. When asked about the wealth redistribution comment and what exactly it implies against the social and economic background, Chakravarty said that wealth needs to be thought of in the broader context of budget and resources.
“Isn’t reservation, wealth? …It’s only for the elite in Delhi where wealth redistribution means I am coming to your home and taking your Rolex watches… No way does it mean that we will come into your home and take away your Rolex watches. The solution is to create certain policies. No way does it mean that we will come into your home and take away your belongings… Under what law in the Constitution can someone take away wealth like that?” he told MoneyControl, adding, “I know every line in the 45 pages of the manifesto. Nowhere does it say that we will redistribute wealth. Economic inequality is a problem and we have to address that.”
We then looked up the manifesto, “Nyay Patra”, where in the “Equity” subsection (page 6), under the section “Social Justice”, the party states in the first point, “Congress will conduct a nation-wide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. Based on the data, we will strengthen the agenda for affirmative action.”
The Congress also says it will establish an authority to monitor the distribution to the poor of government land and surplus land under the land ceiling acts. In the “Economic Policy” section of the manifesto (page 28), the party promises to address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policies. At no point in the manifesto did the party say it will redistribute wealth, especially the claim that it will “confiscate two-thirds of your [salaried class, professionals and business owners] assets for redistribution to the poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Wealth Redistribution Scheme”. There is no mention of such a scheme, nor does the word “redistribution” appear. Similar news reports clarifying the promises in the Congress manifesto can be seen here and here, which confirms the viral claim to be false.
Also Read: Did Rahul Gandhi Promise To ‘Redistribute Wealth’ Only To Muslims? No, Viral Video Is Edited
Conclusion
Viral claim that the Congress in its manifesto promised to confiscate two-thirds of assets belonging to the salaried class, professionals and business owners for redistribution to the poor was found to be false.
Result: False
Sources
Congress manifesto
Moneycontrol article, April 23, 2024
Hindustan Times report, April 16, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
