‘Modi not OBC by birth’: Rahul Gandhi says PM will never hold caste census

He later clarified that Modi belongs to the Modi-Ghanchi caste.

The Congress leader also accused the Prime Minister of lying about his birth. “I don’t need any birth certificate to prove that the Prime Minister was not born as OBC. He never hugs any OBC… never holds hands of any OBC… he never shakes hands with the labourers or farmers. He only holds the hands of Adani ji,” Gandhi said.

At a time when the Opposition INDIA alliance has decided to push the caste census demand to counter the BJP’s Hindutva narrative, Gandhi said only the Congress would hold a caste census. “He [PM Modi] will not hold a caste census. In his whole life, he will not hold a caste census. Because your Prime Minister is lying to the world. He is not OBC, he is from the general caste and will never allow a caste census. Only Congress and Rahul Gandhi will hold a caste census,” he said.

“When I spoke about social justice and caste census, Modi, in his speech said, there were only two castes in the country — one is rich and another is poor. If there are only two castes…which caste do you belong to? You are not poor since you wear new suits 24/7. If there are only two castes, how can you claim yourself as OBC?” Gandhi asked.

Stating that there are 8 per cent tribals, 15 per cent Dalits and 50-55 per cent OBCs in the country, Gandhi said the media questions him for raising his voice against casteism. “Show me a worker from the Scheduled Caste heading any of the top 200 biggest companies. Forget about companies, can anyone show me any OBC or Dalit among the 90 people who run the country? When 73 per cent of the population does not have proper representation anywhere, how can the country unite?” said Gandhi, adding there is huge social injustice in the country.

Hitting out Gandhi for his remarks on the PM’s caste, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said the caste was made OBC two years before Modi became Gujarat Chief Minister.

“Once again, Rahul Gandhi shamelessly peddles falsehoods, this time claiming PM Narendra Modi wasn’t born in the OBC caste and he got his caste notified as an OBC after he became the chief minister of Gujarat. The truth: Modi’s OBC status was recognised on Oct 27, 1999, two years before he became Gujarat’s Chief Minister. Congress insults the OBC community yet again, but OBCs will deliver a resounding lesson in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” he said in a post on X.

Another Union minister, G Kishan Reddy, also took to X and posted a similar message. Both ministers also attached a copy of the Gazette notification showing that the caste was made OBC in 1999.

Gandhi subsequently took to X to say that the BJP had confirmed that the PM was not born OBC.

“Modi ji is not by birth but a ‘paper OBC’. He was not an OBC until five decades after his birth. Thanks to the BJP government for confirming this truth of mine,” he said, while sharing a news report about BJP leaders saying Modi’s OBC status was recognised in 1999.

Even though the yatra failed to draw a crowd at Jharsuguda – once a Congress bastion – forcing Gandhi to revise his schedule, it drew an impressive crowd at Belpahar. The Congress organisation in the industrial town was destroyed after Naba Das switched to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the 2019 polls. Das, who was the health minister in the Odisha government, was shot dead by a police officer in January last year.

Reiterating that the BJD and BJP are partners who loot the people, Gandhi said there is a difference of only “P” and “D” between the two parties.

Later, in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh, Gandhi spoke about last year’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. “One year ago, we started the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir walking 4,000 km. The journey’s target was to stand up against the hatred and the atmosphere of violence being spread in the country by BJP and RSS. The yatra gave us a new slogan – Nafrat ke bazar mein Mohabat ki dukan kholni hai (loosely translated as spreading love in a place filled with hatred). This slogan deeply explains the ideology of Congress. They open a market of hatred and we open shops of love. They run markets of violence and we open shops of non-violence,” he said.

The current Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will resume on February 11 after a two-day break.

Rahul Gandhi is in Chhattisgarh for the first time after the Congress lost the Assembly elections to the BJP in December last year. The Congress tally came down from 71 seats to 35 seats with the party losing all 14 seats in Surguja tribal belt. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will pass through the Surguja tribal belt where the party had created history by winning all 14 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections.

“The Yatra will re-enter Jharkhand on the morning of the 14th, and thereafter re-enter Bihar on the morning of the 15th. On the afternoon of February 16th, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which started in Manipur, will end in Mumbai after moving through 15 states in 66 days, covering 6,700 km.