Anurag Thakur Vs Rahul Gandhi Over Census: 'Someone Who Doesn’t Know About Caste…’

In a heated exchange in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused BJP MP Anurag Thakur of “insulting and abusing” him during a discussion on the Union Budget. The controversy erupted when Thakur made a jibe, saying, “The one whose caste is not known is talking about the census.”

Gandhi responded to the remark by stating, “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.”

He added, “You can insult me as much as you like but we will pass the caste census in Parliament.”

The remark led to a commotion in the House, with Gandhi interrupting Thakur’s speech. Despite efforts by Lok Sabha Speaker Jagdambika Pal to restore order, MPs continued to express their discontent.

Thakur clarified his statement, saying, “I had said that someone who doesn’t know about caste talks about census. I did not name anyone.”

The debate drew further reactions from other political leaders. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, a member of the INDIA bloc, rebuked Thakur for questioning someone’s caste, stating, “How can you ask someone’s caste? You can not ask anyone’s caste.”

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to social media platform ‘X’ to criticise Thakur’s comment. She wrote, “Socio-economic-caste census is the demand of 80% of the people of this country. Today it was said in Parliament that those who do not know their caste talk about census.”

“Will 80% of the country’s population be abused in the country’s parliament now? Narendra Modi should clarify whether this happened at his behest?,” Priyanka questioned.