Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his “jitni aabadi utna haq’ remarks and asked if the grand-old-party wants to decrease the rights of the minority communities. Reacting to the Bihar caste census data release, Rahul Gandhi had pitched for greater rights for OBCs and SCs/STs based on their population.

“The caste census of Bihar has revealed that OBC + SC + ST are 84% there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5% of India’s budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. The greater the population, the greater the rights – this is our pledge,” Rahul Gandhi had said.

Responding to the Congress leader’s remarks, Prime Minister Modi said, “Since yesterday, Congress leaders are saying ‘jitni aabadi utna haq’… I was wondering what the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be thinking. He used to say that the minority has the first right to the country’s resources… But now Congress is saying that the population of the community will decide who will have the first right to the country’s resources”.

“So now do they (Congress) want to decrease the rights of the minority? Do they want to remove the minorities?… So, should the Hindus, who have the largest population, come forward and take all their rights?… I am repeating Congress party is no longer being run by Congress people. Senior leaders of Congress are sitting with their mouths shut, neither are they asked, nor do they dare to speak after seeing all this. Now Congress has been outsourced”, the prime minister said while addressing a rally in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur.

The remarks of the Rahul Gandhi are seen by experts as an effort to set the narrative of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Opposition’s INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, have been pushing for a nation-wide caste census. Gandhi has also announced to carry out a caste-based survey in Madhya Pradesh if Congress party is elected to power in the state.

Earlier on Monday, hours after Bihar government released its caste census data, Prime Minister Modi lashed out at the Opposition parties for trying to divide the country in the name of caste. Modi said that attempts of “dividing the country on caste lines” is a sin.