‘Modi using hate speech’

Party under fire: BJP supporters waving their party flags, which uses a lotus as its election symbol, ahead of the second phase of national elections in Meerut. — AP

THE country’s main opposition party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators” – some of his most incendiary rhetoric about the minority faith, days after India began its weekslong general election.

The remarks at a campaign rally on Sunday drew fierce criticism that Modi was peddling anti-Muslim tropes.