JHARSUGUDA: Congress MP and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday made a remark claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not an OBC (Other Backward Classes) by birth.
During his visit to Jharsuguda district as part of the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Odisha, he said Modi was born in a general caste but his community was given OBC status after BJP came to power.
Addressing the public at Mahima Chowk in Belpahar, Gandhi said, “PM Modi often questions the need for reservation to OBC and claims he is an OBC himself. But let me tell you, Modi was never born to OBC category. All of you are being fooled. Modi was born to Teli community in Gujarat. But his community was categorized as OBC by the BJP government in 2000. Your PM was born to general caste. He was not an OBC. And he has been lying everywhere that he was born to OBC category.”
Gandhi further said, “I don’t need any birth certificate to prove it. I have witnessed myself how he never hugs an OBC person. He never holds the hand of a farmer or a labour. He will never let caste-based census happen. Only Congress Party and Rahul Gandhi can make caste-based census possible.”
He told the gathering that Modi belongs to the Modh-Ghanchi caste. His community was tagged OBC status by the Gujarat government in the year 2000.
Rahul also informed that of the total population in India, 8% are tribals, 15% are dalits and around 50% are OBC. “Though 73% of the population in India belong to the SC, ST and OBC communities, these people are never given a place in the mainstream and then we talk about uniting the country. If majority of the population are not given anything, stripped off of their rights, left to die in hunger, how can Bharat be united? There is terrible social injustice across the country,” he said.