HYDERABAD
Condemning BJP’s criticism over Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s caste, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) official spokesperson Chanagani Dayakar stated that Mr. Modi’s caste was indeed included in the OBC list by the Centre in 2001.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Dayakar said that 3,460 castes had been recognised as Backward Class communities by the Mandal Commission in 1981. “Mr. Modi’s caste was not mentioned in the Mandal Commission report. But, later, it was included in the OBC list during Vajpayee’s regime.”
He added that when Chimbanbhai Patel was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Modi’s caste was included in the OBC list in 1994. “Since his caste was not in the Central list, his caste members ensured it was listed in the Centre’s approved OBC list in 2001 in one way or the other,” he said.
The Congress leader said that Mr. Modi belonged to a ‘business’ caste right from the beginning, and has no understanding of the plight of OBCs. “BJP projected Modi as a ‘chaiwala’ just to gain political mileage. People believed it and brought them to power. And, they started selling the country,” he alleged.
He also pointed out that people with the surname Modi are mostly businessmen, and there are no tea vendors. “What is wrong with Mr. Revanth Reddy’s remarks on Modi’s caste? It must be discussed. BJP is trying to politicise his comments,” he said.
