Hours after his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s caste triggered strong protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the general public, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy clarified on Saturday that he had not made any personal criticism of the Prime Minister.
"I never personally insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I only said that Modi does not belong to the Backward Classes by birth and, therefore, lacks genuine concern for BCs," Revanth Reddy said.
He accused Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay of distorting his statement.
"If Modi truly cares about BCs, he should include caste enumeration in the national census," he added.
The chief minister emphasized that his government is committed to public welfare through initiatives like caste census.
"Telangana is a role model in caste enumeration and SC classification. Whatever Rahul Gandhi has promised, I will implement," he said.
However, senior BJP leader and returning officer for the party’s state organizational elections, Yendala Lakshminarayana, criticized Revanth Reddy for his remarks, stating that the chief minister had no understanding of Modi’s caste.
"As a responsible leader, Revanth Reddy should not make baseless allegations against the Prime Minister without verifying facts. A simple Google search would have provided him with Modi’s caste history," Lakshminarayana said.
He pointed out that in 1994, when Congress was in power in Gujarat, the Teli caste—Modi’s caste—was recognized as a Backward Class in most parts of India but not in Gujarat.
"It was only in 1999 that the Gujarat government officially classified the Teli caste as OBC through a gazette notification," he explained.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Bandi Sanjay challenged the Congress party to treat Modi’s caste as an election issue and a referendum in the upcoming MLC elections.
He accused Revanth Reddy of making baseless comments about the Prime Minister’s caste to divert public attention.
