Playing the caste card yet again to counter Priyanka Gandhi's "neech rajniti" barb, Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out questioning whether belonging to a lower caste was a crime and said he has sold tea not the country.
Addressing an election rally here, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said people from the lower castes have been looked down upon and made to sit "outside".
"You can insult Modi as much as you like, you can hang him. But do not insult the lower caste. I was attacked and dubbed as a tea seller as if it I had committed a crime. Questions were raised as to how he (Modi) can run the country. I have sold tea not the country," he said in an oblique attack on Congress over corruption.
"I had said that Rajiv Gandhi insulted Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister D Anajaiah at the airport. The insult of Modi is OK but they said we are doing low level politics. Is it a crime to be born in backward caste? Did I insult anyone despite being born in backward caste? Such a dirty blame has been put on me," he said addressing the rally in support of party candidate Jagdambika Pal who had recently quit Congress to join the BJP.
He also sought the intervention of the Election Commission to stop such attacks on him. "Can EC take action? I don't know. They have their limitations (Unki majboori unhe mubarak...)," he said Priyanka on Monday hit out at Modi saying he has insulted her "martyred" father Rajiv Gandhi during his speech in Amethi and accused BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate of indulging in "low-level" politics.
Modi said, "It is a fact that I was born in a backward cast but I can assure this country that my politics is not of low-level. I have a dream of one India, better India." The BJP leader said backward communities faced discrimination for centuries and are ready to face them in the coming years as well but at least "give us the right to live". "What is our(backward communities) crime? How dare they termed us as lowly and insult us," he said.
"If telling truth is a crime, I am ready to face the consequences...I don't know what kind of mental state they are living in even after 60 years of independence. I pray they get sanity," he said.
In an all-out attack, Modi charged that ancestors of backward communities have given their lives for "luxuries of the Nehru-Gandhi family but in return they were always kept out of bounds and insulted".
Earlier in a series of tweets, the Gujarat Chief Minister had hit out at Priyanka Gandhi saying, "As I belong to a socially backward caste, they consider my politics to be of a low level (neech rajneeti). Some people (Gandhis) cannot see that it is due to renunciation, sacrifice and hard work of people of backward class that the country has reached to the present position," Modi had tweeted. "This 'neech rajneeti' will wipe tears of thousands of people and free India of 60 years of mis-governance and vote bank politics," he said.
Addressing the people at the rally, he said the new generation of the country has "awakened" and it was above "casteism and poison of communalisim". "You have to make your future or not. Do you all want to face problems your parents have faced. We have to change our way for this. Have you witnessed change in past 60 years rule of Congress, SP and BSP. I want to tell Uttar Pradesh that adopt politics of development and your lives will change," he said.
Touching upon the issue of development, Modi said both Hindus and Muslims should fight poverty together. "If Hindus fights with Muslims and Muslims fight with Hindus, what will both get. No one will be benefited. Both Hindus and Muslims have only one problem that is poverty. We Hindus and Muslims should unitedly fight poverty. We will fight poverty together. Politics of divide and rule have been played a lot. Now there should only be only one mantra- unite brothers, community, villages for development.Lets play politics of development", he said.
Modi also asked voters to first cast their vote and then have breakfast.
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