On Friday (October 14), Janata Dal (United) National President Lalan Singh courted controversy after he falsely claimed that Narendra Modi added his caste to the OBC category following his stint as the Gujarat Chief Minister.
He made the controversial remarks during a political event in Patna. “The character of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is problematic…Before the 2014 elections, Narendra Modi was going around claiming to be from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC),” the JD(U) leader alleged.
He accused Narendra Modi of ‘impropriety’ and indulging in caste-based politics. Singh claimed, “There is no EBC category in Gujarat. There is only Other Backward Caste (OBC). Narendra Modi was not an OBC.”
#WATCH | In 2014, PM Modi roamed the country saying he was from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC). There’s no EBC in Gujarat, only OBC. When he became Gujarat CM he added his caste to OBC. He’s a duplicate, not an original: JD(U) national president Lalan Singh at Patna y’day pic.twitter.com/EY5xwysLYC
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2022
He added, “When he became Gujarat CM he added his caste to OBC. He’s a duplicate, not an original.” The JD(U) leader’s ignorant comment received overwhelming applause from his supporters.
The development comes ahead of the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in the State of Gujarat.
The truth behind PM Modi’s caste
Opindia has earlier reported that Narendra Modi belongs to the Modh Ghanchi caste, which is listed as an OBC by the Gujarat government. Records show that the Modh Ghanchi caste was classified as OBC in July 1994, much before Modi became the Gujarat Chief Minister (2001-2014).
On 25th July 1994, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment added several castes to the list of OBCs, and Modh Ghanchi was one of them. This was done by issuing a resolution numbered SSP/1194/1411/A dated 25/07/1994.
The relevant page of the resolution, which is in Gujarati, has been attached above. It may be noted that reservations for OBCs were granted only during VP Singh’s government after the Mandal Commission report. Prior to that, only SCs and STs were eligible for reservation.
And the practice of including additional castes under the OBC started after the Mandal Commission report was accepted. Accordingly, respective states had identified OBC castes and included them in the list in the 1990s, including the Modh Ghanchi caste of PM Modi.
The Opposition is trying its best to unseat the BJP from forming a government in Gujarat for the 5th time in a row. And to achieve it, they have now resorted to casting aspersions about the caste of the Prime Minister.
