India, April 25 -- The debate over inheritance tax and redistribution of wealth has overshadowed the divisive electoral rhetoric. Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized on comments of Indian Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda, who said that the idea of an inheritance tax should be debated and discussed. He accused the Opposition party of intending to grab the wealth of people accumulated through hard work, and taxing them even "after death".

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government advocated an inheritance tax in the past. He pointed to comments of former BJP minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha and former finance minister Arun Jaitley in 2018. Ramesh said Jaitley praised the concept for "spurring large endowments t...