News Politics National Modi defends caste interpretation of Priyanka's jibe at him

Modi defends caste interpretation of Priyanka's jibe at him

New Delhi: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Thursday defended his caste interpretation of Priyanka Gandhi's "low-level politics" comment, saying that he was most familiar with Gujarati language and in it, "the meaning approximates to


Asked if he believed Priyanka Gandhi had made a reference to his caste, Modi said he was most familiar with Gujarati language.

"In Gujarati, the meaning approximates to the response I have given. Secondly, as I said yesterday, when there was talk of 'neech' deeds and 'neech' castes, isn't the CWG (Commonwealth Games) scam an example of 'neech' politics?... I am responding also to the definition of 'neech' acts and 'neech' politics given by others. Take caste out of it, by all means. I have no objections to that," Modi said.

Asked if he had sought to enter caste into political debate, Modi said he agreed that usage of word "neech" is not good.

"Let's assume I misunderstood. But even their intention behind such usage of the words was incorrect," Modi said.