New Delhi, India

Launching a scathing attack on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that he was not born in an Other Backward Class family and that he has been "misleading" people by identifying himself as belonging to an OBC category. 

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Delivering a brief speech on the third and last day of his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in the India state of Odisha, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi "was born in a family that belonged to the general caste".

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"Modi ji has been misleading the people by saying that he is an OBC. He was born in a family of the Teli caste, which was included in the OBC list during the BJP government's tenure in Gujarat in 2000. Therefore, Modi ji is not an OBC by birth," emphasised the Congress MP.

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PM Modi avoids shaking hands with OBCs, hugs billionaires: Gandhi 

Congress leader further alleged that Prime Minister Modi avoids shaking hands with OBCs, however, he "hugs billionaires". 

The former Congress president, wearing a white t-shirt, resumed the yatra from the Old Bus Stand on Thursday (Feb 8) and walked towards Kissan Chowk in an open jeep. 

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"He will not allow caste census to be conducted in his entire life because he was not born in OBC, he was born in general caste," said Gandhi.

He was accompanied by OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak and AICC leader Ajoy Kumar. 

Watch: Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra runs into rough weather in East India

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be entering Chhattisgarh from neighbouring Odisha on Thursday (Feb 8). 

This will be the first visit of Gandhi to Chhattisgarh after the November 2023 Assembly elections, in which his party was defeated.  

The yatra, after a two-day break, started from Manipur on January 14 and is set to cross the Raigarh, Sakti and Korba districts on February 11.

On February 14, the yatra will travel to Jharkhand from Balrampur.

(With inputs from agencies)