Women of the country together a big "caste": PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned women of the country of "divisive politics" by some parties to split them. He said that women are one big "caste" who are able enough to take any challenge standing together, PTI reported.

Interacting with women and beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY), the PM said, "All women should remain together. Nowadays, some people are creating a rift among women... All women have one caste, which is so big that they can together take on any challenge."

PM's statement comes while the opposition Congress and other parties have been pushing for a caste census. The big "caste" comment is seen as the PM's swipe at the Opposition.

Rahul Gandhi, who promotes the caste census, commented last month, "If it is not known whose population is how much, then how will we talk about participation."

He had said that Congress would conduct a caste census in Rajasthan if the party came to power in the state, but unfortunately, the party lost the state.

Rahul once said that the PM used to say he is from OBC, but the day he (Gandhi) raised the demand for caste census, Modi started saying there is only one caste in India- the poor.

Modi claimed that the poor, women, youths, and farmers are the four biggest castes who are working to lead progress to a developed India.

He urged the women's audience to create awareness about the government's many welfare schemes. He suggested that before his government, welfare schemes and related programmes just remained in papers and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

Modi promised that the 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' scheme would ensure that development reached every strata of society.