‘Why PM Modi identifies himself as OBC if he thinks…, ‘ asks Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, asking why he identifies himself as an Other Backward Class (OBC) member when he considers the poor as the only caste in the country.

Addressing a public rally in Durg, Chhattisgarh, on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that for him, there’s only one caste in the nation and that is poverty…”For those who are poor, Modi is their servant, their brother and their son,” he added.

The Prime Minister also hit out at the Congress, asking the party to “stop abusing the OBC (Other Background Class)” community. He said, “Why is the Congress abusing the entire OBC community? If Modi is an OBC, then what is the fault of the entire community?”

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was also speaking in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, took a dig at the prime minister for his “poor is only caste” statement. He asked, “If there’s no caste and only ‘poor’ in the country, then you keep calling yourself an OBC?

Vanvasi Vs Adivasi

Addressing a public meeting in Jagdalpur of poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Gandhi accused the BJP of insulting tribals by referring to them as ‘vanvasi’ instead of ‘adivasi’, and said his party will eliminate the term ‘vanvasi’ from the country.

The word “vanvasi” is an insult to the tribals, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, while hitting out at PM Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. While the BJP refer to the tribal community as ‘vanvasis’, the Congress uses the term ‘adivasis’ for them.

“There’s a huge difference between the two words,” Gandhi said while addressing the public in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

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Gandhi said, “‘Adivasi’ is a revolutionary word.” He explained that the word refers to the “first and real owners of this country, that is, the owners of the water, forests and land of this country”.

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“This forest, land and water were taken from your (tribals’) hand,” he said at the Chhattisgarh rally. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said the party doesn’t want to use the word “adivasi” because if they do so, the party will have to return your land, water and forest.

“And they don’t want to give in to this matter. Hence, they have come up with this new term ‘vanvasi’ — which means people who live in the forest, just like the animals,” the Congress leader said.

“The word vanvasi is an insult to the tribals, and this Congress party will never accept it,” he added.