Cong MP submits privilege motion notice against PM

New Delhi: A political storm erupted in Lok Sabha following controversial remarks made by BJP MP Anurag Thakur during a discussion on the Union Budget. The incident sparked a heated debate over caste politics and parliamentary privilege, with the Opposition Congress seeking to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During Tuesday’s Budget discussion, Thakur made a comment apparently directed at Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, stating that “whose caste is not known talks about caste census.” This remark triggered an uproar in the House, with Opposition members denouncing it as “insensitive” and “abusive.”

The controversy escalated on Wednesday when Prime Minister Modi shared a video of Thakur’s speech on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). This action prompted Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi to submit a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking to move a privilege motion against the Prime Minister.

Channi, a former Punjab Chief Minister, alleged that Modi had shared portions of Thakur’s speech that had been expunged from the official parliamentary record. “The prime minister’s tweeting of the remarks which had been expunged from the proceedings of Lok Sabha clearly amounts to a breach of privilege and contempt of the House,” Channi stated in his notice.

However, official sources suggest that Channi’s notice may face hurdles. They point out that while some of Thakur’s remarks were indeed expunged, the specific comment about caste that sparked the controversy was not removed from the record.

The BJP hit back at the Congress, saying what was wrong in asking about Gandhi’s caste as he had been asking about the caste of others, including government officials, judges, soldiers and even journalists, an apparent reference to the Congress leader’s remarks in the past when he batted for caste census.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “You are demanding caste census. If it is an insult to ask about caste in Lok Sabha, how can a caste census be done in the country?”

At the same time, the ruling party stressed that Thakur did not name anyone and wondered why the Leader of Opposition took offence and called it an insult to him. The Opposition, led by the Congress, has accused the BJP of mocking and insulting Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs through Thakur’s remarks. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described Thakur’s speech as a “highly abusive and unconstitutional tirade,” while Deputy Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, emphasised that caste census is an emotional issue for many Indians from SC, ST, and OBC categories.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the BJP’s stance, stating that there was nothing wrong in asking about Gandhi’s caste since the Congress leader frequently brings up caste issues. “By asking the caste of people, the Congress has conspired to divide the country,” Rijiju claimed.