Congress govt in Gujarat included PM Modi's caste in OBC list in 1994: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for debating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's caste, stating that Modi's caste was included in the OBC list by a Congress government in Gujarat and later by the Centre.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said it is very unfortunate that there is a debate on the caste of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has a habit of telling lies publicly and repeating those thereafter.

Mr. Shah also said it was a Congress government in Gujarat that included Modi's caste in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in 1994 and the Centre included the prime minister's caste in its OBC list in 2000.

"Modi's caste was listed in Gujarat as OBC on July 25, 1994. At that time, the chief minister of Gujarat was Chhabildas Mehta and the party in power was the Congress. Till that time, Modi had not contested a single election. He used to work for the organisation only. The question of his caste did not come at all.

"Subsequently, the Gujarat government recommended for the inclusion of his caste in the central OBC list. It was finally included in the central OBC list in 2000. At that time also, Modi was not in a position of power -- not an MP, not an MLA nor even a sarpanch. He became the chief minister in 2001. These people have a habit of distorting facts," Shah said at the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2024 here.

He said Mr. Gandhi has a habit of telling lies and repeating those thereafter.

"As far as Modi's caste is concerned, it is very unfortunate that there is a debate on the caste of a great leader like Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi does not know the difference between a caste and a block," he said.

The home minister said Modi had said he is an OBC and added that OBC is a block and not a caste. Gandhi was probably not taught this by his teachers, he said.