JD(U) casts doubts over PM Modi's OBC status

Addressing a press conference at the JD(U) headquarters, the party’s MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar questioned the claim made by Modi that he belonged to an 'ati pichhda' (extremely backward classes) community.

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Saturday alleged that the Narendra Modi government was reluctant to hold a caste census out of fear that “falsehood” about the Prime Minister's OBC status would be exposed.

Addressing a press conference at the JD(U) headquarters here, the party’s MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar questioned the claim made by Modi that he belonged to an 'ati pichhda' (extremely backward classes) community.

Kumar pointed out that Modi has been accused of getting his caste, 'Modh Ghanchi', included in the OBC list in 2002 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

'Modi sought to deny the allegation by claiming it was done way back in 1994 when the Congress ruled Gujarat as well as the Centre', added the JD(U) leader.

Kumar showed a sheet of paper claiming it was the Gazette of India of that year, mentioning the casts that were included among Other Backward Classes (OBC).

'The Ghanchi caste has six sub groups out of which only one, Ghanchi (Muslim), was there in the list of OBCs in 1994', said Kumar, challenging the BJP to repudiate his claim.

The JD(U) leader also alleged that Modi had got the Modh Ghanchis included because of an obsession with electoral gains.

He also claimed that the Prime Minister's caste, as per the 1931 census, had a literacy rate at a par with Brahmins and higher than than Rajputs and, hence, did not need benefits extended to OBCs.

'There are also documents on record to show that in the early 19th century, Modh Ghanchis had been petitioning the British government that they be counted among Baniyas, and not among Ghanchis, with whom they never inter-dined or had matrimonial alliances', said the JD(U) leader.

The caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar government has created a buzz across the country, he asserted.

“But the Centre baulks at holding a caste census because of the fear that the falsity to which recourse was taken in Gujarat, may get exposed,” Kumar said.

Addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh in April 2019, the Prime Minister had declared that he was not just an OBC, but was 'born' into the 'most-backward caste'.

Meanwhile, the caste survey continued to face allegations of irregularities.

A Raj Bhavan march staged by former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha was stopped by the police at Dak Bungalow crossing, a few kilometres from the Governor's residence.

Kushwaha, who quit the JD(U) in January, floated a new outfit and joined the BJP-led NDA, sat on a dharna along with hundreds of supporters before agreeing to the offer by the administration that a delegation of not more than 15 people meet the Governor.

The delegation that called on Governor Rajendra Arlekar included Kushwaha, his close aide Madhaw Anand and others.

A memorandum was submitted to the Governor in which it was alleged that the survey was 'fake' since enumerators did not visit a large number of households and imaginary figures were recorded to suit the prospects of the state's ruling Mahagathbandhan, especially the RJD, its largest constituent.