Linking quota, population a ploy to divide India, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of trying to divide society through its call of apportioning resources proportional to the demographic weight of communities, and asked if it was advocating for curtailing the rights of minorities, marking his first response to Bihar's landmark caste survey that has the potential to upend heartland politics and trigger a churn in key caste groups.

- Ritesh Mishra

Modi's sharp comments came a day after Bihar released the results of its caste survey that revealed that backward communities comprised nearly twothirds of the state's population and general categories formed around 15.5%. The exercise - the first to successfully enumerate caste groups in independent India was hailed by Opposition parties, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "Jitni aabadi utna haq" (Population weight will determine rights).

On Tuesday, Modi hit back. Speaking at a rally in pollbound Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur town, the PM lashed out at the Congress. "Since yesterday, the Congress has started speaking a new tune. Congress leaders say the population of people will decide rights and resources. For me, poor people are the biggest population of the country and they have the first right over resources. Welfare of the poor is my aim," Modi said.

"The Congress wants to destroy India by dividing the Hindus at any cost; it wants to divide the poor also. For me, the poor are the biggest caste in the country. If the poor are looked after well, the country will automatically be well," he said.

Modi then referred to a 2006 comment by former PM Manmohan Singh - made at a National Development Council meeting on the fiscal priorities of the government and minority empowerment -to allege that the Congress was against minorities.

"I was wondering what former PM Manmohan Singh ji would be thinking. He used to say that minorities have the first right to a country's resources and that too, Muslims. But now, the Congress is saying that the population of the community will decide who will have the first right. So now does it want to curb the rights of the minority?" the PM said.