Anurag Thakur and Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha clash: ‘You associated the lotus with violence, do you associate Rajiv with violence too…’ | Mint

BJP MP Anurag Thakur and Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had a heated exchange in the Lok Sabha after Thakur’s controversial remarks on caste, which were later expunged. The incident led to a lot of commotion and Congress members trooped into the well of the House.

On Tuesday, Anurag Thakur launched a scathing attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and targeted his ‘chakravyuh’ jibe at the BJP-led NDA.

On Monday, Rahul Gandhi used the ‘Chakravyuh’ metaphor, saying India was being controlled by six people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He compared the ‘Chakravyuh’ to the ‘Padmavyuh’ and highlighted its similarity with the BJP’s lotus symbol.

Anurag Thakur vs Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha

In the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress and Rahul Gandhi and mocked the opposition leader and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor by using his satirical novel.

Anurag Thakur used excerpts from Shashi Tharoor’s book Great Indian Novels He criticised successive Congress governments since 1947 and accused Rahul Gandhi of misinterpreting his role as leader of the opposition as a “leader of propaganda”.

Taking a dig at Gandhi, Thakur said a synonym for the BJP symbol lotus is “Rajiv”, a reference to Rahul Gandhi’s father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Thakur asked, “You associated the lotus with violence, does this mean that you also associate Rajiv Gandhi with violence?”

Rahul Gandhi, responding, accused BJP members of insulting him and said despite the misbehaviour, the Opposition was committed to passing the caste census in the House.

Gandhi also stressed that he does not want to apologise to Anurag Thakur but wants to apologise like Arjun. MahabharataHis sole focus is on carrying forward the caste census.

He said, “Anyone who raises the issues of Dalits and backward classes has to face abuses… I do not want any apology.”

Anurag Thakur criticised the Congress party’s stance, claiming that for them OBC means “only brotherhood commission” instead of Other Backward Classes. He also recalled former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s opposition to OBC reservation. Thakur further suggested that some people are “accidental Hindus” with only a superficial understanding of the Mahabharata.

Thakur also accused Rahul Gandhi of relying on “borrowed intelligence”, alleging that Gandhi’s speeches are written by “Uncle Sam”, an apparent reference to party leader Sam Pitroda. The BJP MP suggested that Gandhi’s effort to be seen as a “cool dude” was undermined by his reliance on others for his public statements.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav questioned Thakur’s statement and called it inappropriate. He said, “How can you ask someone’s caste?”

Shashi Tharoor intervenes

Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur quoted excerpts from Shashi Tharoor’s satirical novel and said Great Indian Novelslaunched scathing attacks on successive Congress prime ministers, using abbreviations such as “N-G”, “IG” and “RG1”.

Thakur’s comment targeted the Congress party and criticised former leaders using the satire contained in the book.

In response, Tharoor clarified that his references were meant to be sarcastic and accused Thakur of misinterpreting the novel. The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram pointed out that Thakur selectively quoted from the book to fit her story and ignored Tharoor’s other works that would not serve the BJP’s agenda.