An attempt is being made to take the country backward in the name of caste and religion and people's attention is being diverted from basic issues such as hunger and jobs, NCP president Sharad Pawar said here on Saturday.

Pawar's comments came ahead of a rally of MNS chief Raj Thackeray who earlier this month tried to corner the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra by demanding that loudspeakers on mosques be removed.