Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has opened a new front against PM Narendra Modi based on another lie, questioning the OBC status of the PM’s caste. Addressing the crowd during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Odisha, Rahul Gandhi said that Narendra Modi was a general caste at the time of his birth, as he belongs to the Teli community which was a general caste when he was born. The Congress leader then claimed that the Teli community was added to the OBC list by the Gujarat govt in 2000.
#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "PM Modi was not born in the OBC category. He was born Teli caste in Gujarat. The community was given the tag of OBC in the year 2000 by the BJP. He was born in the General caste…He will not allow caste census to be conducted in his… pic.twitter.com/AOynLpEZkK
— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2024
“PM Modi was not born in the OBC category. He was born Teli caste in Gujarat. The community was given the tag of OBC in the year 2000 by the BJP. He was born in the General caste…This man is lying before the whole world that he is OBC Do you know how I know this? I don’t need a birth certificate…He never hugs any OBC person. He never holds the hands of farmers and labourers. He only holds the hand of [Gautam] Adani ji. He will not allow caste census to be conducted in his entire life because he was not born in OBC, he was born in General caste,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Later the Congress party posted a tweet claiming that PM Modi is not OBC by birth, and he was made OBC by the BJP govt of Gujarat.
नरेंद्र मोदी जन्म से OBC नहीं हैं, उन्हें BJP की गुजरात सरकार ने OBC बनाया है। pic.twitter.com/mn9eB58I6V
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 8, 2024
It has already been reported how Rahul Gandhi and his party are lying, as Narendra Modi’s caste was included in the OBC list by a Congress govt in Gujarat, not BJP. It was done in 1994, not 2000, and there were Congress governments both in Gujarat and in centre in 1994.
It is notable that no OBC person born before 1991 was OBC at the time of birth, because the OBC category for reservation was created in 1990 after the Mandal Commission report. The VP Singh’s decision to grant reservation for Other Backward Class was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1992. And in just two years later in 1994, PM Modi’s Modh-Ghanchi caste was included in the OBC list by the Gujarat govt under Chhabildas Mehta of the Congress party.
Now a former Congress deputy CM of Gujarat has come forward to bust the lies of Rahul Gandhi. Rajya Sabha MP Narhari Amin, currently a BJP leader, was the Deputy CM of Chhabildas Mehta govt in Gujarat when the notification adding communities to OBC list was issued by the state govt. Narhari Amin asserted that Modi’s community was made OBC by Congress in 1994, not in 2000 by BJP govt, urging Rahul Gandhi withdraw the statement.
Narhari Amin tweeted, “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 cooking up mindless lies on this issue. This decision, and the subsequent GoI notification came when Shri @narendramodi was not even MP/MLA forget being CM.”
The current BJP MP then added, “I demand Shri @RahulGandhi 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 Shri @narendramodi”.
Social media users have posted the 25th July 1994 notification by the Gujarat govt, which busts the lies by Rahul Gandhi that PM Modi was made OBC by the BJP govt.
What Shri @narhari_amin Ji is saying is completely true.
— Dhaval Patel (@dhaval241086) February 8, 2024
Please look at the notification issued on 25th July 1994 which inclued Modi Ghanchi in OBC list. https://t.co/FD3AJfZDXb pic.twitter.com/u2d40kfDGq
Notably, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya earlier posted that PM Modi’s caste Modh-Ghanchi was notified as OBC in 1999, 2 years before he became the CM of Gujarat. He also posted a gazette notification from the govt of India, which said that the old entry of ‘Ghanchi (Muslim)’, has been replaced with three new entries in the OBC list, Ghanchi (Muslim), Teli, and Modh Ghanchi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi got his caste notified as an OBC after he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat: Rahul Gandhi.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 8, 2024
This is a blatant lie. PM Narendra Modi's caste was notified as an OBC on Oct 27, 1999, a full 2 years BEFORE he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.… pic.twitter.com/lDU3uJrHwJ
Although at first glance it seems that two years are being mentioned for inclusion of the Modh Ghanchi community in the OBC, actually there is no contradiction here. This is because, the 1994 notification was issued by the Gujarat state govt, while the 1999 notification was from the central govt.
Therefore, the Gujarat Congress in 1994 had notified the Modh-Ghanchi as OBC, and the notification in Gujarati is available in the public domain. Before that in 1993, the central govt had issued a notification including a large number of communities in the OBC list. This included Ghanchi (Muslim) for Gujarat. Then Later in 1999, the central govt amended the list to add Teli and Modh Ghanchi communities along with Ghanchi (Muslim) in Sl Number 23 for Gujarat.
Clarifying the matter, Amit Malviya later tweeted citing Narhari Amin, “Govt of Gujarat, led by the Congress, notified Modi-Ghanchi as OBC in July 1994. Central Govt, following on the recommendations of GoG, notified it as OBC on Oct 27, 1999, a full 2 years BEFORE PM Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.”
Govt of Gujarat, led by the Congress, notified Modi-Ghanchi as OBC in July 1994. Central Govt, following on the recommendations of GoG, notified it as OBC on Oct 27, 1999, a full 2 years BEFORE PM Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 8, 2024
Shri Narhari Amin, Deputy CM then,… https://t.co/xYSylfEh2N
After widespread fact-checking of Rahul Gandhi’s claims, he later tried to shit the goalpost by saying that BJP has confirmed that PM Modi was not OBC at the time of his birth. He tweeted, “Modiji is not by birth, but an OBC only on papers. He was not an OBC until five decades after his birth. Thanks to the BJP government for confirming this truth of mine”.
मोदी जी जन्म से नहीं बल्कि ‘कागज़ी OBC’ हैं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 8, 2024
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
However, this claim makes no sense because it applies not only to PM Modi but to everyone in the OBC category born before 1991. Before the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented, there was no OBC in the country. Therefore, there is no way PM Modi could be OBC from birth. Just like PM Modi was not OBC for the first 50 years of his life, everyone in the OBC category was not OBC before their communities were notified as OBCs.
Moreover, the reserved categories of SC, ST and OBC are in paper only. Governments keep adding new communities to these categories. Many communities are still making such demands now, which could be accepted by the govt in future. As and when a community is included in SC, ST or OBC list, people from those communities get included in the respective category. PM Modi’s community was also thus included in the OBC category. It is not clear what wrongdoing or scam Rahul Gandhi is finding here.
For example, last year it was reported that 80 more castes had been approved for inclusion in the OBC list. Therefore, if someone from such a caste was born in 1950, such a person will become OBC 74 years after the birth. There are no irregularities or scams here, that is how the caste-based reservation system has been working in India. Nobody can be denied inclusion in reserved categories just because that person’s caste was not on the list at the time of birth and was included later.
