Modi says Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Modi’ surname jibe insulted an entire backward community

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remark linking people with the Modi surname to theft, saying the comment amounted to an insult to the whole backward community the Prime Minister comes from. Speaking at an election rally, he also targeted NCP chief Sharad Pawar over dynastic politics.

The surname row

At a recent rally in Maharashtra, Gandhi had asked why so many of the accused had Modi as a surname, naming Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi, and wondered how many more would come to light.

Responding, the Prime Minister said the Congress and its allies were now branding everyone with that surname as criminals. He said the “naamdar” (dynast) had first tried the “chowkidar chor hai” slogan and had now moved on to defaming a backward community. Modi said he had long been abused over his caste background and had grown used to it, but would not tolerate a whole community being labelled thieves because of him.

Attack on Sharad Pawar

Modi claimed that Pawar had “fled” the contest in the Madha Lok Sabha constituency because he sensed defeat. He said Pawar, as a senior leader, was entitled to criticise him or his family, but accused the NCP chief of being steeped in dynastic politics and of taking his cue from a “special family” in Delhi, an apparent reference to the Gandhis.

NCP MP and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil shared the stage with Modi, who congratulated him on completing 50 years in active politics. Mohite Patil’s son Ranjitsinh, a former NCP MP, had joined the BJP in March.

Promises and other remarks

• Modi said a separate Jal Shakti ministry would be set up if his government returned, with a dedicated department for linking rivers and expanding irrigation.
• He contrasted what he called the scam-ridden years of earlier governments with his own, saying there had been no stain of corruption in the last five years.
• Recalling past terror attacks on Mumbai, he said militants were now being struck in their own hideouts, and said he stood like a wall between the armed forces and those who questioned their courage, an apparent reference to opposition leaders who sought proof of the airstrike in Pakistan.
• He said the Congress and NCP had no vision for India and that their only aim was to remove him.

Modi also said he had told officials to provide immediate relief after unseasonal rain, dust storms and lightning struck parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat overnight, leaving 35 people dead and many injured.

What happened next

When votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election were counted on 23 May 2019, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52. Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Nationalist Congress Party, more election news

Originally published on 17 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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