Betwixt an adjective and a noun

By twisting an adjective to a noun, Narendra Modi underlined his caste identity a day prior to polling in areas where caste-based parties are putting up a stiff resistance to the BJP’s communal politics.

Modi was playing on an adjective, neech (low-level), used by Priyanka Gandhi on Monday to describe the BJP’s politics.

“He has insulted my martyred father on the soil of Amethi. The people of Amethi will never forgive him for this act. Workers in Amethi will reply to this low-level politics. There will be reply from each of the booths,” Priyanka had said while responding to Modi’s jibes at the Gandhis, including her father Rajiv Gandhi, as he campaigned in Amethi on Monday.

Modi sought to portray this as a mockery of his social identity, implying the “

neech ” referred to a low caste. At a rally in Uttar Pradesh and subsequently in a series of tweets, he responded to Priyanka’s description of his politics as “low level” to accuse her of casting aspersions on his caste.

He said: “They call my politics low level because I come from a socially backward community. What some people do not recognise is that the country has reached where it has because of the sacrifices and hard work of these lower castes. And it is this low level politics that will free India from 60 years of mis-governance and politics of vote-bank and wipe the tears off every common man’s eye.”

“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 a backward caste? Did I insult anyone despite being born in a backward caste? Such a dirty blame has been put on me,” he said while addressing an election rally in Domariyaganj.

Caste politics

The Congress, however, said it was not Priyanka, but Modi who was playing caste politics. “He knows that he is misinterpreting. He does it purposefully. That is Narendra Modi. He will give it a spin that has nothing to do with fact,” Law Minister Kapil Sibal said.

Modi is a Ghanchi, a community of oil-pressers who may even be classified as Sahus, closer to Vaishyas than the OBC that the community presumably belongs to.

In fact, BSP chief Maywati has consistently asked Modi to spell out exactly which caste he belongs to, a move to block Modi from consolidating the entire lot of the OBCs behind him.