Modi raising caste issue, not Priyanka: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress today hit out at Narendra Modi after he accused Priyanka Gandhi of "insulting" him with the "neech rajniti" remark as he belonged to a backward caste, saying she never made any such insinuation and was only referring to BJP's "low-level" politics.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi alleged that the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate was indulging in "caste politics" in his desperate attempt to garner votes.

"It is unfortunate that he distorted Priyanka Gandhi's comments for political mileage. In BJP, whether one belongs to upper caste or lower caste, all of them are doing low-level politics," Alvi said.

"We never discriminate on caste basis and as far as this tweet is concerned, he (Modi) is doing caste politics. Nobody knows which caste Narendra Modiji belongs to?

It is he himself who has disclosed that he belongs to OBC. He is doing this politics. Now he has come down to this level," he said.

Priyanka had hit out at Modi saying he had insulted his martyred father on Amethi's soil and accused the Gujarat chief minister of practising 'neech rajneeti'.

Modi earlier today invoked his 'backward class' status to further mount attack on the Congress' star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi.

"As I belong to a socially backward caste, they consider my politics to be of a low level (neech rajneeti)," Modi said in a series of tweets.

The BJP, meanwhile, defended Modi saying Priyanka was "ill-advised" in using the 'neech' expression.

"She (Priyanka) doesn't understand the impact it can have, the negative impact it can have especially at the time when this country is trying to extricate itself out of caste politics.

"It is really insulting and I think she should have really kept out of it, and, considering the candidate in Amethi ( Rahul Gandhi) is not speaking," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said countering the Congress attack.

Congress' Meem Afzal said Modi was making a "desperate" attempt to be a member of the backward class.

"It was not Priyankaji's intention what Modi is saying," he said.

Afzal added that yoga guru Ramdev also attempted to indulge in such kind of statements and now his politics has been "finished".