On BJP efforts to play the backward and extremely backward caste cards by highlighting Narendra Modi's humble background, he said “while Bihar has annexure one and two to categorise backward castes for providing benefits is there anything like that in Gujarat?”
He said people like Jayprakash Narayan, Chaudhary Charan Singh or V P Singh were not born in backward castes but championed their cause.
Stating that secularism was essence of the country's tradition, he said “Respect for all religions cannot be done only by uttering good words, but there is a need to sincerely work for welfare of all communities.”
On his Gujarat counterpart's development claims, he said “Developing Bihar which is a landlocked state is far more difficult than a state located on coast and which developed in the past.
