'Cooked Up Mindless Lie': BJP MP Tears Into Rahul Over Caste Jibe On PM Modi

Narhari Amin, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and a former deputy chief minister of the state, took to Twitter to slam Gandhi for "insulting the OBC communities".

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not born in an Other Backward Class (OBC) family has drawn sharp criticism from Narhari Amin, a former Congress leader who is now with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Amin, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and a former deputy chief minister of the state, took to Twitter to slam Gandhi for "insulting the OBC communities by cooking up mindless lies on this issue".

He said that he was serving as the deputy chief minister of Gujarat in the Congress government when the state government notified Modh-Ghanchi as OBC on July 25, 1994. He said that this is the same caste that Prime Minister Modi belongs to.

He also said that the central government's notification to include Modh-Ghanchi in the OBC list came when Modi was not even an MP or an MLA, let alone the chief minister of Gujarat.

I was serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat in the Congress Government when GoG notified Modh-Ghanchi as OBC on 25th July 1994. This is the same caste our respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi belongs to. Mr. @RahulGandhi is insulting the OBC communities by — Narhari Amin (@narhari_amin) February 8, 2024

"I demand Rahul Gandhi immediately withdraw his lies. He should stop defaming OBCs and also apologise to the people of Gujarat for being filled with hate towards our popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Amin tweeted.

Gandhi had made the controversial statement on Thursday while addressing a rally in Odisha as part of his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. He claimed that Modi was born in a family that belonged to the general caste and that he changed his caste to OBC after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.

He also alleged that Modi will never conduct a caste census in the country, which is necessary for ensuring social justice. He said that only the Congress party will conduct the caste census and provide justice to the oppressed sections of the society.

मोदी जी जन्म से नहीं बल्कि ‘कागज़ी OBC’ हैं।

वह अपने जन्म के 5 दशक बाद तक OBC नहीं थे।

मेरे इस सच पर मुहर लगाने के लिए भाजपा सरकार का धन्यवाद। pic.twitter.com/BkT8TRfZaN — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 8, 2024

He further accused Modi of lying about his OBC status and favouring the rich over the poor. He said that Modi does not shake hands with OBCs, but hugs billionaires. He also said that the BJP and the BJD, the ruling party of Odisha, are two sides of the same coin and that they are conspiring to snatch the land of the tribals.

Gandhi's yatra, which started from Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, covered about 200 km in Odisha and entered Jharkhand on Thursday. He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders Ajoy Kumar and Sarat Pattnayak.