'New and shameful low': Congress slams PM Modi for sharing Anurag Thakur's caste census speech

NEW DELHI: The Congress party strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday for sharing and praising a speech by former Union minister Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha, in which Thakur allegedly questioned the caste of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In an X post, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Prime Minister of promoting a "serious breach of Parliamentary privilege" by calling the speech a "must hear".
"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," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Ramesh further pointed out that despite the Chair Jagadambika Pal assuring MPs that the comments would be expunged, Sansad TV uploaded the unedited speech, and the Prime Minister publicly shared and praised it. He called this a "new and shameful low in the annals of India's parliamentary history" and said it reflects the "BJP-RSS and Mr. Modi's deep-rooted casteism."
Thakur's remark that "those whose caste is not known" are talking about caste census caused an uproar in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with Congress MPs protesting in the well. PM Modi shared Thakur's speech, calling it a "must hear" and describing it as "a perfect mix of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance."

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also criticized Thakur's comments. Yadav questioned the appropriateness of asking someone's caste, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pointed out that a socio-economic caste census is demanded by 80% of the country's population. She asked if 80% of India's population would now be abused in Parliament and called on PM Modi to clarify if this happened at his behest.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said that the words used by Thakur for Rahul Gandhi have angered people and are echoing in their minds.