NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had launched a scathing attack on the Congress party during his reply to debate on Motion of Thanks to President’s address.
Hitting back at Modi for calling himself the ‘biggest OBC’ Mr Gandhi said it was important to change the mentality of considering someone small or big.
Responding to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Prime Minister Modi had accused the Congress and the UPA government of doing injustice to backward communities. While Congress leaders keep counting the number of OBCs in the government, they fail to see the biggest OBC, Modi said referring to himself.
“A few days ago, Karpoori Thakur ji was conferred with Bharat Ratna. In 1970, when he became Bihar CM, what was not done to destabilise his government? Congress can’t tolerate OBCs…They keep counting how many OBCs are there in government. Can’t you (Congress) see the biggest OBC here (pointing towards himself)?” PM Modi said.
Modi also questioned the number of OBCs in the National Advisory Council (NAC) during the Congress-led UPA government, dubbing it as an “extra-constitutional” body. “During the UPA Government, an extra-constitutional body was formed. The government could not have its way before that body. National Advisory Council – did it have any OBC members? Find out,” he added.
Responding to Modi’s remarks in the Parliament, the former Congress president said, “The Prime Minister was often saying that there are only two castes in the country – rich and poor, but today in Parliament he described himself as the ‘biggest OBC’. “It is important to change this mentality of considering someone small and someone big,” Gandhi said, reiterating his demand for a caste-based census.
“Be it OBC, Dalit or tribal, economic and social justice cannot be provided to them without counting them,” he added, asking “Why is he afraid of counting?” Rahul Gandhi is currently leading a nationwide East-to-West outreach programme under the banner of “Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
