WATCH: PM Modi pits Rahul Gandhi against Manmohan Singh to Congress’s embarrassment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday put Congress in a bind for Rahul Gandhi's "Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq (rights in proportion to population)" remark in response to the Opposition’s attempts to corner the BJP in the wake of the caste census in Bihar.

Addressing BJP's 'Parivartan Mahasankalp' rally in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, PM Modi in Jagdalpur recalled former prime minister Manmohan Singh's words. Singh had said minorities have the first right over the country’s resources.

"Since yesterday, Congress leaders are saying 'jitni aabadi utna haq'... I was wondering what the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be thinking. He used to say minorities have the first right over the country's resources... But now, Congress is saying that the population of the community will decide who will have the first right to the country's resources".

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"So now do they (Congress) want to decrease the rights of the minority? Do they want to remove the minorities?... So, should the Hindus, who have the largest population, come forward and take all their rights?" PM Modi said.

"Whose population is more?" PM Modi asked, and said will it be possible to ensure the rights according to the population.

"Should Hindus take all the rights? Congress should clarify whether the rights will be given according to the population. Does Congress want to remove minorities?" he said.

PM Modi said his government introduced every scheme with the interest of poor people in mind, adding that "the poor is the biggest caste, biggest community in the country."

"For Modi, poor people are the biggest abadi of the country and they have the first right over resources. Welfare of the poor is my aim," the PM asserted.

The Nitish Kumar-led government, of which Congress is a part, released a caste survey of Bihar on Monday. The survey showed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a 63 per cent of the state's total population.

Hailing the Bihar caste census, Rahul Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter), “The caste census of Bihar has revealed that OBC, SC, ST are 84 per cent there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5 per cent of India's budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. The greater the population, the greater the rights – this is our pledge”.

In Bihar, Congress is a ruling ally of Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

With inputs from agencies