The Congress party has termed BJP MP Anurag Thakur's budget speech as a “highly offensive and unconstitutional tirade” and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of promoting a “serious breach of parliamentary privilege” by sharing the speech on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary and communications officer, slammed Thakur for referring to the caste of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi during a debate on the budget in the Lok Sabha.
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Prime Minister Modi praised Thakur's speech and said it was a “must-hear”. Ramesh tagged Modi's post on X and said, “This speech calling the non-biological PM a 'must-hear' is a deeply offensive and unconstitutional tirade — and by sharing it, he has encouraged a serious breach of parliamentary privilege.”
This speech, which the non-biological PM calls a ‘must hear’, is a deeply offensive and unconstitutional tirade – and by sharing it, he has encouraged a serious breach of parliamentary privilege. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur took parliamentary discourse to a new… https://t.co/tF75hK1sPd
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 31, 2024
“Thakur took the parliamentary debate to a new low by asking a fellow MP and the leader of the opposition about his caste identity,” Ramesh said.
Following protests from the opposition benches, Speaker Jagadambika Pal assured MPs that the remarks would be deleted, he said.
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“In a departure from all parliamentary norms – deleted comments are cut from videos uploaded online – Sansad TV uploaded the unedited speech, and the non-biological prime minister publicly shared and praised it,” Ramesh said.
“This is a new and shameful low in the annals of India's parliamentary history. It reflects the BJP-RSS and Mr Modi's deep-rooted caste system,” the Congress leader alleged.
Thakur's reference to Gandhi's caste led to an ugly spat between the opposition and the finance ministers.
Gandhi accused Thakur of insulting and assaulting him during the debate, but indicated that he would not demand an apology from the former minister.
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“Anurag Thakur has insulted me and I don't want an apology from him. Call me names or insult me as much as you can but remember that we will definitely take the caste census in this Parliament,” the Leader of the Opposition said in the House.
Sharing Thakur's speech at X on Tuesday, Modi said, “This speech by my young and energetic colleague Shri Anurag Thakur is a must-hear. A perfect blend of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance.”
This speech by my young and energetic colleague, Shri @ianuragthakur is a must-hear. A perfect mix of facts and humor, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance. https://t.co/4utsqNeJqp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 30, 2024
As the row broke out in Parliament, the Congress said that the Gandhi family caste is martyrdom, but the BJP-RSS will never understand that.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also strongly opposed Thakur's apparent misgivings about Gandhi's caste in the Lok Sabha.
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“A socio-economic caste census is the demand of 80 percent of the people in this country. Today it was said in Parliament that those whose caste is not known are talking about a caste census,” she said in a message in Hindi on X on Tuesday.
80% 80% I think it's good I think it's good I think I did it right
I think it's 80% more Why? I think I did it right Do you want to do that? photo.twitter.com/kQi5Y2Rsph
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 30, 2024
Will 80 percent of India's population now be abused in parliament, she asked.
“Narendra Modi must clarify whether this was done at his request,” she said.
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