On Tuesday, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticized BJP MP Anurag Thakur for allegedly questioning Rahul Gandhi’s caste. She stated that 80% of the country’s population was insulted in Parliament. During the Union Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Thakur remarked about the unknown caste of those advocating for a caste census, which caused an uproar. Thakur later clarified he did not name anyone.
Priyanka’s Statement:
“A socio-economic caste census is the demand of 80% of the people of this country. Today, it was said in Parliament that those whose caste is not known talk about a caste census,” Priyanka said in a Hindi post on X. She questioned if 80% of India’s population would be abused in Parliament and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the situation.
Pawan Khera’s Statement:
Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera declared that the caste of Rahul Gandhi’s family is “martyrdom.” He criticized the BJP’s mindset, stating, “This mindset can only be of the BJP that such abuses are used for a person who is the son of a family of martyrs. He is told that your caste is not known. We will tell you what his caste is. Rahul Gandhi’s father is a martyr and this family’s caste is martyrdom. This the RSS, the BJP, and Thakur can never understand.”
Rahul Gandhi’s Response:
Rahul Gandhi claimed he was insulted and abused by Thakur. “Whoever raises the issues of Adivasi, Dalit, and the backward, is abused. I will happily accept these abuses…Anurag Thakur has abused me and insulted me. But I do not want any apology from him,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Anurag Thakur’s Original Remark:
Earlier, Thakur said, “Those whose caste is not known, talk about the caste census. I want to remind the Speaker that in this House itself, a former prime minister RG-1 (Rajiv Gandhi) had opposed reservation for OBCs.”
Support from Akhilesh Yadav:
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, an ally of Rahul Gandhi, also criticized Thakur, questioning how he could ask about Rahul Gandhi’s caste.