Fact-checking five days of Narendra Modi’s speeches: A catalogue of lies

Over the past week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly lied on the campaign trail.

It began with his speech in Banswara, Rajasthan, on April 21. He claimed the Congress planned to seize and redistribute private wealth to Muslims, labelling them “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

The Model Code of Conduct, under which elections are held in India, states: “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”

After the Congress and other political parties filed complaints with the Election Commission, accusing Modi of “hate speech”, the prime minister stopped making an explicit reference to Muslims – but only for a day.

By April 23, he was back making false and divisive claims about the community getting favours from the Congress at the cost of socially disadvantaged Hindu groups.

Scroll listened to every speech made by Modi over five days and fact-checked his claims. Overlooking the usual exaggerations that typify political speeches – for instance, overstating the success of a welfare scheme – we focused on the prime minister’s substantial, divisive lies. Here is what we found.

April 21, Banswara

Claim: Modi started by claiming that the Congress manifesto said it...

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