Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed Congress over its nationwide caste census pitch and accused the party of trying to divide Hindus, and sought to know if it wants to curtail the rights of Muslims by advocating a population-based distribution of resources.

PM Modi said that for him, the poor form the biggest chunk of the country’s population and they should have the first right over resources, irrespective of their caste or community. He also accused the Congress of dividing the society on caste lines for votes.

The PM’s statements came a day after the Nitish Kumar government released a caste survey that revealed Other Backward Classes and Economically Backwar Classes constitute a whopping 63% of Bihar’s population. 

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, whose party is a constituent of the ruling bloc in the state, welcomed the caste survey and said the country needs a caste census to give people rights as per their proportion in population.

Addressing the BJP’s “Parivartan Mahasankalp” rally in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi claimed that the Congress has entered into a “secret pact” with a foreign country and takes pleasure in speaking against India, and urged people to be alert.