"Rahul Gandhi, Congress Abusing OBC Community": Union Minister

Union Minister Piyush Goyal launched an attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party, alleging they want to insult the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community. Mr Gandhi is no longer a Lok Sabha MP after his conviction in a criminal defamation case for asking if those with the surname "Modi" were "thieves", which the BJP alleged was derogatory to the OBC community. "Rahul Gandhi and Congress want to abuse the OBC community. He hasn't even apologised. The Congress is a demoralised party, relying only on black magic," Mr Goyal said. The Congress has said Mr Gandhi's disqualification as MP was based on a frivolous defamation case. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said Mr Gandhi's "Modi surname" comment was not aimed at OBC. "Is Nirav Modi an OBC?" Mr Tharoor said, referring to the fugitive businessman who alleged scammed Punjab National Bank and fled India.