JHARSUGUDA/AHMEDABAD : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that PM Narendra Modi was not an OBC (Other Backward Classes) by birth and had been lying to the people all the time. Soon after Rahul’s comment, the BJP came down heavily on him, calling his allegations as “utterly baseless”.
At a public at Belpahar in Jharsuguda district of Odisha during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul said that Modi was born in a general caste but his community was given OBC status after the BJP came to power. “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. He has been lying everywhere that he was born to OBC category,” Rahul said.
In response, Narhari Amin, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Congress member, said that it was the Congress-led Gujarat Government which notified Modi’s caste as OBC in July 1994. Subsequently, the Central government, on the recommendations of the Gujarat government, officially recognized it as OBC on October 27, 1999, well before Modi became the CM of Gujarat.
Amin also demanded an apology from Rahul and asserted that the decision to classify PM Modi’s caste as OBC and its subsequent notification by the Central government occurred before Modi held any significant political office.
“Government of Gujarat, led by the Congress, notified Modi-Ghanchi as OBC in July 1994. The Central Government, following the recommendations of GoG, notified it as OBC on October 27, 1999, a full 2 years before PM Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat,” said Amin, adding that Rahul’s baseless allegations are disrespectful to the OBC communities.
BJP leader Purnesh Modi accused Rahul of spreading misinformation regarding PM Modi’s caste, suggesting it stemmed from frustration. Purnesh Modi vehemently opposed Rahul’s remarks, asserting unity behind PM Modi’s inclusive vision.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Backward Classes said that it had suggested inclusion of Modh-Ghanchi caste in the ‘Central List’ of OBCs for Gujarat in an advice to the Union government dated November 15, 1997. Subsequently, a Gazette Notification to this effect was issued on October 27, 1999. The notification to include ‘Modh-Ghanchi’ in the OBC list was released by the Gujarat government on July 25, 1994.