On Saturday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he included his caste in the list Other Backward Class (OBC) communities for political gains. The comments came soon after PM Modi accused the opposition of thinking of him as a neech (lowly) person.

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Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of including his caste in the list of backwards during his term as the Gujarat chief minister, she said at a press conference here in Lucknow, "In order to derive political profits during elections, he (PM Modi) got his upper caste included in the list of backward castes. Like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, (PM) Modi was not born in a backward caste."

"Today, at Kannauj, he (PM Modi) said Behenji and Akhilesh (Yadav) think of him as a neech (lowly)  person as he comes from a backward caste. Their (BJP's) Dalit-backward card is not working anymore," she said.

Amid a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj, PM Modi had said, "This country didn't know my caste till my detractors abused me...I am thankful to Mayawatiji, Akhileshji, Congress people and the 'mahamilavatis' that they are discussing my caste...I believe that taking birth in a backward caste is an opportunity to serve the country." He also requested rival politicians to not drag him into caste politics. "I tell you with folded hands, I want no part in this. The 130 crore people of this country are my family," he declared.

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