Congress general secretary in-charge of communications and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sharing the unedited speech of BJP MP and former union minister Anurag Thakur, in which he launched personal attacks on former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Responding to PM Modi's X post, in which he shared the link to Anurag Thakur's speech, Jairam Ramesh said, "Sansad TV has uploaded the unedited speech, and the non-biological Prime Minister has shared and praised it publicly."
Jairam Ramesh attacked the BJP and RSS, saying, "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 casteism."
PM praises Anurag Thakur's speech
PM Modi praised Anurag Thakur's speech and said it is a must-hear. "This speech by my young and energetic colleague, Anurag Thakur, is a must-hear. A perfect mix of facts and humor, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance."
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PM breached Parliamentary privilege: Congress
Reacting sharply to PM Modi's post endorsing Anurag Thakur's speech, a Congress leader said, "This speech that the non-biological Prime Minister calls a ‘must hear’ is a highly abusive and unconstitutional tirade – and by sharing it, he has encouraged a serious breach of Parliamentary privilege. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur brought Parliamentary discourse to a new low by asking a fellow MP and the Leader of Opposition about his caste identity."
The Chair promised to expunge the objectionable part: Jairam Ramesh
"Upon protests from the Opposition benches, the Chair, Jagadambika Pal, assured MPs that the comments would be expunged (34:40). In a departure from all parliamentary norms – expunged comments are edited out of videos uploaded online – Sansad TV has uploaded the unedited speech, and the non-biological Prime Minister has shared and praised it publicly."
What Anurag had said?
Anurag Thakur launched several veiled attacks on Rahul Gandhi during his over 45-minute speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Speaking in Parliament about the issue of caste census, Thakur said, "The one whose caste is not known is talking about the census."
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Soon after this, the house erupted in an uproar and the Speaker ordered Thakur to sit to allow Rahul to respond, asking the Opposition MP to move out of the well and let their leader speak.
Amid the din, Rahul said, “Whoever in this country speaks for the Dalits, OBCs and tribals have to take abuses from others. I will take all the abuses happily. Like Arjun in Mahabharata, I only see the fish's eye. We will get the caste census done. You can abuse me however many times you like. I don't need your apology.”
