New Delhi | BJP leader Anurag Thakur's apparent reference to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's caste during a discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday triggered an ugly spat between the opposition and treasury benches.
Gandhi accused Thakur of insulting and abusing him during the debate but asserted that he would not seek any apology from the former Union minister.
Questioning the Congress' stand on caste census, the BJP leader made certain remarks on Gandhi's caste that triggered an uproar and had Congress members trooping into the Well of the Lok Sabha.
"Anurag Thakur insulted me and I don't want any apology from him. Abuse or insult me as hard as you can but don't forget we will pass the caste census in this Parliament for sure," the Leader of the Opposition said.
Launching a scathing attack on Gandhi for his "chakravyuh" jibe at the BJP-led government a day earlier, Thakur cited purported portions from a book authored by Shashi Tharoor to hit out at successive Congress governments since 1947 and alleged the former Congress chief misinterpreted his position of LoP as "leader of propaganda".
Thakur also took a jibe at Gandhi, who stood up twice to counter his remarks targeting the previous Congress governments.
The BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur claimed that Gandhi had already made his remarks but sought permission to speak again after someone passed a chit to him.
"Udhar ki buddhi se rajniti nahi chalti (You can't indulge in politics on borrowed wisdom)," Thakur said.
The former Union minister said one of the synonyms for lotus is Rajiv, the name of Rahul Gandhi's father and former prime minister.
"You linked lotus with violence. Does that mean you also link Rajiv with violence?" the BJP MP asked.
Thakur alleged that the definition of OBCs for Congress is "Only Brother-in-law Commission" and not Other Backward Classes. He also referred to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's opposition to reservation for OBCs.
Without taking any names, Thakur said a few people are "accidental Hindus" and their knowledge of the Mahabharat is also accidental.
Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, said Thakur's remarks on caste stand expunged.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav questioned Thakur for his statement and described it as inappropriate. "How can you ask anybody's caste?" he posed.
Pal said nobody in the House is allowed to ask the caste of any person.
During the course of his speech, Thakur alleged that Rahul Gandhi's speeches are written by "Uncle Sam", an apparent reference to party leader Sam Pitroda. The BJP member claimed that Gandhi was using "borrowed wisdom" to make speeches in an attempt to be a "cool dude".
He also said that reality and not "reels" make a "real" politician.
Citing excerpts from Tharoor's book "The Great Indian Novel", the Thakur attacked successive prime ministers from the Congress using abbreviations, including "N-Ji, IG and RG 1".
At this point, Tharoor intervened and said Thakur's repeated references were from a satirical novel written years ago and the BJP leader did not understand the satire.
The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said he has written several other books which are not being quoted by Thakur because it is not convenient for the narrative he wanted to convey.
Referring to Gandhi's remarks on the halwa ceremony ahead of the budget, Thakur referred to a series of scams, including Bofors, CWG, 2G, fodder, urea, coal, jeep and National Herald, and sought to know "who ate the halwa from the scams".
During his speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Gandhi displayed a photo of the halwa ceremony that precedes the printing of the budget, saying there was no Dalit, Adivasi or Backward Class person in the photo.
He said 20 officers worked on preparing the country's budget and of them, only one was from the minority community and one from the OBC category.
New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday praised BJP leader Anurag Thakur's speech in the Lok Sabha, in which the former Union minister made a political counter to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, saying it is a "must hear".
"This speech by my young and energetic colleague Shri Anurag Thakur is a must hear. A perfect mix of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance," Modi said on X.
Thakur had hit back at Gandhi over his speech in the Lok Sabha. The BJP leader sought to turn the tables by using Gandhi's reference to Chakravyuh and its characters to slam the Congress. He referred to the alleged scams during the Congress governments and its leaders' critical references to caste quotas in the past to question the Leader of Opposition.
His apparent questioning of Gandhi's caste over the issue of caste census created a row in the Lok Sabha. The Congress leader described it as an insult, while insisting that it will not deter him from sticking to his demand for caste census.
In another post on X, Prime Minister Modi lauded Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to the budget discussion.
"FM @nsitharaman presents a very comprehensive picture of this year's Budget and what it offers for every section of society. She reiterates our Government's commitment to growth and reforms," he wrote on X.