Does Anurag Thakur's caste jibe at Rahul Gandhi prove the LoP's point?

Debate on the caste census got unsurprisingly personal on Tuesday (30 July) as BJP MP Anurag Thakur commented on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha speech on the 2024 Union Budget, saying, "Those whose caste is unknown are calling for a caste census."

Though Thakur did not explicitly name Gandhi, the comment was clearly directed at him. In response, Gandhi stated that those who advocate for OBCs, tribal groups and the Dalit communities often face abuse.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Monday, 29 July, Gandhi had shared a photograph of the halwa ceremony that customarily precedes the union budget, claiming that 73 per cent of India’s population was missing from the picture and getting no share of the halwa. Ostensibly, the use of the photograph kept causing 'technical difficulties' for Sansad TV.

Drawing an analogy from the Mahabharata, Gandhi declined to go after an apology from Thakur. Just as Arjuna could see only the eye of the fish he was supposed to shoot, ignoring the discus in his way, Gandhi said he too would stay focused only on his goal — ensuring a national caste census.

"Anurag Thakur has insulted me, he has abused me, but I don't want an apology from him. I am fighting a battle, and I will continue to do so. You can insult me as much as you want; I don't want an apology," said Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.

However, not everyone was so willing to overlook Thakur's remarks. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, an ally of the Congress and a key member of the Opposition INDIA bloc, rose up to challenge Thakur right to ask.

"How can you ask about anyone's caste?" Yadav fumed.

In response, Thakur pointed out that Rahul Gandhi's father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, had opposed OBC reservation, whereas the current Congress party supports a caste census. "You have to decide whether he was right or you are right. Was your party wrong, or are you wrong? Was he against OBCs, or are you for them?" Thakur asked.

Later in the day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X that 'the Indian National Congress is ready to listen to any casteist abuse, but we are determined to implement the caste census'.

"Caste census is the need of the hour. So that social, economic and political empowerment can be implemented for the marginalised people! So that the benefit of equal opportunity and participation can be taken! But the Modi government is depriving us of this,' wrote Kharge.