Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Congress has escalated the controversy surrounding BJP leader Anurag Thakur’s caste remarks against Rahul Gandhi by submitting a privilege complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The complaint was lodged by Jalandhar MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to the Lok Sabha Secretary General.
In his letter, Channi highlighted that “certain objectionable remarks” made by Thakur were expunged from the official records of the House. “It is, however, shocking to note that these expunged portions had been tweeted by the Prime Minister on X along with the whole speech video. In addition to this, other objectionable expunged words in the speech had also been tweeted, as laid down in Practice and Procedure of Parliament by Kaul & Shakdher,” Channi wrote.
Speaking to NDTV, Channi emphasized that expunged remarks cannot be publicly repeated, but “the Prime Minister publicized them by tweeting.” Responding to the BJP’s defense that the remarks were not expunged when Modi tweeted, Channi stated, “They were expunged in the House right away.”
The controversy intensified after the Prime Minister shared a video of Thakur’s speech on X, calling it a “must hear.” Modi praised Thakur’s speech as a “perfect mix of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance.”
The Congress criticized the Prime Minister for encouraging a “serious breach of parliamentary privilege” by sharing the speech, describing it as a “highly abusive and unconstitutional tirade.” Senior Congress MP Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the session, had assured that Thakur’s remarks would be expunged.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh noted that while expunged comments are typically edited out of videos uploaded online, Sansad TV uploaded the unedited speech in this instance. “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,” Ramesh alleged.
Anurag Thakur, a five-time MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, made the contentious remarks during a debate on Budget 2024, launching a personal attack on Rahul Gandhi. This provoked a sharp response from the Opposition benches. The Leader of the Opposition intervened, demanding an opportunity to respond to Thakur’s insults. Gandhi retorted, “You can insult me as much as you want, do it every day. But don’t forget that we (the opposition) will get the Bill (on Caste Census) passed here (in Parliament).”
