‘Narendra Modi is duplicate’: JDU chief Lalan Singh on PM's caste status

JDU national chief also called BJP a "messy place", and said that those who left BJP and joined JD(U) did a good job. He also attacked the central government over the issue of unemployment and inflation.

Representational Image (Credits: ANI)

Patna: Janata Dal (United) national president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being duplicitous about his caste alleging PM Modi added his caste to the OBC list during his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister. Addressing JD(U) party members here, Singh on Friday said, "In 2014, Narendra Modi roamed the country saying he was from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC). There is no EBC in Gujarat, only OBC. When Modi became Gujarat Chief Minister he added his caste to OBC. He is a duplicate, not an original." 

Stating that BJP is a "messy place", Singh said that those who left BJP and joined JD(U) did a good job. The JD(U) leader also attacked the central government over the issue of unemployment and inflation. 

"Inflation is never discussed, but Cheetah is discussed. Will the cheetah go hungry? Employment has been destroyed. The central government has no control over inflation. PM Modi never sold tea, does he even know how to make tea," Singh added.

Notably, the Income Tax (IT) department on Friday conducted raids at multiple locations in Patna, including the Shivpuri, Patel Nagar, and Boring Road premises of builder Gabbu Singh. Builder Gabbu Singh is a close aide of the JD(U) chief Lalan Singh. 

The development has come months after Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar broke ties with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined hands with the opposition to form a "Mahagathbandhan" alliance in the state and took oath as Bihar CM for the eighth time. It was in 2020 when the BJP-JDU won the election in alliance with each other in Bihar and Nitish Kumar was made the chief minister despite BJP being the single largest party.

In less than two years` time, Nitish Kumar flipped his choices and in a surprise move went on to stitch an alliance with RJD and Congress to form a `Grand Alliance` government in Bihar. The political scenario in the state has changed since Nitish Kumar broke the alliance with BJP and staked a claim to form a government with RJD.The Grand alliance Bihar government comprises JD(U), RJD, Congress, CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M) and has a combined strength of more than 160 in the 243-strong House.