Buoyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public endorsement of fellow MP Anurag Thakur’s speech and using social media to his advantage, the BJP attacked all opposition leaders in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. This came after the Congress created an uproar in Parliament over Thakur’s remarks, which apparently questioned Gandhi’s caste, and continued to press his demand to conduct a caste census.
The BJP objected to the Congress, which moved the privilege motion on the grounds that Modi’s push against Thakur was a “serious violation of parliamentary privilege”. Taking a line that did not take names, the saffron camp defended Thakur and said he did not see anything wrong with the speech.
“Jinki jaat ka pataa nahin, woh ganana ki baat karte hain (He who does not know caste, is talking about caste census),” Thakur said during his budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 30). The vicious attack on Gandhi sparked a nasty row between the opposition and the treasury benches.
‘Calm down Jairam, don’t punch above your weight’
Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya took a swipe at Congress general secretary, communication, Jairam Ramesh asking him not to “pull your weight”. Calling Gandhi a “thrice failed”, he said the Congress should understand what is happening as the LoP has a record of invoking caste in public.
“Calm down Jairam, don’t push your weight. This is Rahul Gandhi’s third track record of invoking caste in public. Congress needs to know what’s going on, it’s happening. Now, find out what is the caste of Balak Buddhi Rahul Gandhi, the son of a Christian mother and a Parsi father. Or, after opposing reservation for OBCs, since 1950, is caste rhetoric just to divide Hindus, for electoral gains? Malviya writes in X.
Calm down Jairam, don’t push your weight. This is Rahul Gandhi’s third track record of invoking caste in public. Congress needs to know what’s going on, it’s happening. Now, find out what caste Balak Buddhi Rahul Gandhi, the son of a Christian mother and… https://t.co/5Di2NA30sB pic.twitter.com/DIBYF1O8w1— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 31, 2024
Jairam Ramesh targeted Modi, who praised Thakur’s speech and said it “must be heard”, on social media and termed the BJP MP’s speech as “indecent and unconstitutional”.
Marking Modi’s post at X, he said, “This speech by the non-biological Prime Minister as a ‘must be heard’ is absurd and unconstitutional nonsense – and by showing it, he has encouraged the violation of the privileges of Parliament.”
Another BJP leader, Sambit Patra, attacked Gandhi for his arrogance and asked why the leader had a problem when others questioned caste. “Previous privilege movement of Congress also against PM when he made reference to Hamid Ansari’s post and said when he was VP, things turned to other side. This time, Rahul Gandhi felt insulted because of caste. When the uproar happened in Parliament, I was there there. However, since this session began, such behavior is shameful in the temple of democracy,” Patra said in a press conference.
“Anurag Thakur did not name anyone, why only one person feels it but no one else? A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi asked about the caste of journalists and about the caste of high court judges. You can ask someone’s caste and if someone asks about your caste, you can say “mother mother”. They can ask about other people and now you say this when no one gives you your name. Rahul Gandhi has tried to question PM Modi’s caste in the past. Look at the way he comes to Parliament, with his hands in his pockets; this arrogance reflects in his body language,” said Patra.
Patra joined other BJP leaders like Rijiju in slamming the Congress for breaching decorum during parliamentary proceedings. “There are rules in Parliament; you can’t show photos but they still do it. You’re insulting the chairman. This is not your living room. This is the temple of democracy,” he said.
Earlier in the day, after the Lok Sabha was adjourned due to ruckus created by the opposition, Rijiju asked if Gandhi was above Parliament. “Are they (the opposition) at the top of Parliament? Can’t caste be questioned? They want to go around asking about caste but they don’t want caste to be questioned,” he said.
He added: “I condemn what the Congress is doing, they keep talking about caste… they question the caste of media and army personnel… Congress has hatched a conspiracy to divide the country on the basis of caste… they want to destroy the democracy and economy of the country, they want to spread anarchy and violence.
What did Congress say?
A day after Thakur’s speech in Parliament, the opposition blasted the budget speech as an insult to Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, with the Congress claiming that the prime minister was supporting it by showing on the X pole. it will be removed. The comments, however, have not been removed from the Parliamentary record.
After the riots, Gandhi accused Thakur of insulting and abusing him during the debate but insisted that he did not seek an apology from the former Union minister. “Anurag Thakur insulted me and I don’t want to apologize from him. Torture or insult me as much as possible but don’t forget that we will pass the caste census in this Parliament for sure,” he said in the DPR.
“In departure from all parliamentary norms – expunged comments edited out of video uploaded online – Sansad TV has uploaded unedited speech, and the non-biological Prime Minister has shared and praised it publicly,” said Ramesh.
“This is a new and shameful history in India’s parliamentary history. It reflects the deep casteism of the BJP-RSS and Mr. Modi,” he said.
Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said the INDIA bloc was protesting inside the house against the “insensitive and cruel” remarks made by BJP leaders during the budget discussion on caste census.
“We know the caste census is an emotional issue and many people in India from SC, ST and OBC categories want a caste census, but their demand was ridiculed by the BJP in Parliament. They were insulted by the BJP in Parliament and it is unfortunate that in the evening, the PM shared his speech and praised the speech. He praised the speech that insulted Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. We are here fighting for our rights and fighting for caste census,” he said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also slammed Thakur. “The socio-economic caste census is the demand of 80 percent of the citizens of this country. Today, he said in Parliament that people whose caste is not known to speak about the caste census. Will 80 percent of the population of India be abused in Parliament today? Narendra Modi should clarify whether this is happening with command,” he said in a post on X.