BJP defends ‘caste’ jibe at Rahul Gandhi; Congress seeks privilege motion against PM Modi.

Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi submitted a notice to Speaker Om Birla seeking to move a privilege motion against the prime minister. BJP MP Anurag Thakur’s controversial remark about Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s caste has triggered a political slugfest, with the Congress party claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged a “serious breach of parliamentary privilege” by sharing it on X. Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Modi for allegedly amplifying Thakur’s “objectionable” remarks that were expunged from the proceedings of the House. Channi, a Dalit MP of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said it was “shocking to note that the expunged portions had been tweeted by the Prime Minister on ‘X’ along with the whole speech video.” “I hereby give notice to move a privilege motion under Rule 222 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha against the Prime Minister for having tweeted on ‘X’ a portion of remarks which were expunged from the proceedings of the House by the Chair,” the former Punjab chief minister said in his communication to Birla. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his dismay over Anurag Thakur’s comments and said, “Taunting in the House – this doesn’t happen in Parliament. Nobody’s caste is asked in the Parliament… He (Anurag Thakur) said this purposely to insult him (Rahul Gandhi). Several of their (BJP) senior leaders have had intercaste marriages. They should look at themselves in the mirror and then speak.” Kharge also criticised the Prime Minister for sharing Thakur’s speech on social media, condemning it as an attempt to inflame sentiments. “PM Modi should know where to speak and who to defend,” Kharge said. Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said the opposition INDIA bloc protested inside the House on Wednesday against the “insensitive and cruel” remarks made by the BJP leaders with respect to the caste census. “We know caste census is a very emotional issue and many people in India from the SC, ST and OBC category want the caste census but their demand was mocked by the BJP in Parliament. They were insulted by the BJP in Parliament and it is unfortunate that later in the evening, the PM shared that speech and praised that speech,” Gogoi told reporters outside Parliament. “The PM praised the speech that insulted the Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. We are here fighting for their rights and fighting for caste census,” he said. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha accused Thakur of exhibiting a feudal mindset, asserting that the focus should be on the caste census rather than individual castes. He also criticised the prime minister for endorsing Thakur’s remarks.