A debate over the demand for a caste census, which has been spearheaded by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, took a personal turn in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday when BJP MP Anurag Thakur said those whose caste is unknown are calling for an enumeration.

While Mr Thakur did not take any names, Mr Gandhi and the benches saw the comment as a dig at the Congress leader, who responded sharply, saying that anyone who fights for the disadvantaged gets insulted and that no amount of abuse could deter him.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Mr Gandhi had used the traditional ‘halwa’ ceremony and the lack of diversity in the Budget-making exercise to hit out at the government, prompting the BJP to retort that the history of the Congress is “replete with instances of obstructing reservation”.

Keeping up the attack on Tuesday, Mr Thakur listed out the alleged scams under Congress governments and said in Hindi, “Rahul ji, you spoke about ‘halwa’ (sweetmeat). Who had the ‘halwa’ from the Bofors scam, from the Antriksh-Dewas scam, from the Commonwealth Games, National Herald, submarine, AgustaWestland, 2G, coal, urea and fodder scams? Rahul ji, was the ‘halwa’ sweet or tasteless? Some people talk about OBCs, but for them (the Congress) OBC stands for ‘only for brother-in-law commission’. This party will talk about other backward castes?”

Continuing in his strident tone, he said, “The ‘shahzada’ (prince) from this party will give us ‘gyan’? First he has to understand what LoP stands for – it is Leader of the Opposition and not leader of propaganda. All I want to say is that he should stop spreading lies. There is a lot of talk about OBC and caste census. He whose caste is unknown is talking about a census?”

As the statement caused an uproar in the opposition benches, the Leader of the Opposition interjected to say that he should be given an opportunity to speak because Mr Thakur had insulted him. 

“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 passed here (in Parliament),” Mr Gandhi asserted.

As an MP from the treasury benches shouted that this would mean the Congress leader would also have to write down his caste, a defiant Mr Thakur said it seemed Mr Gandhi needed a note every time he wanted to intervene. 

“Politics can’t be done with a borrowed brain. You speak every time you get a note. You speak a little and then, after you get a note, you speak again… What I had said was that those who do not know about caste are talking about a census. I did not take any name, but look who stood up to answer,” the BJP MP sneered.

‘Don’t Want Your Apology’

Given a chance to speak again, Mr Gandhi launched a broadside at the BJP and said that anyone who speaks for Dalits, tribals and backward classes and fights for them is insulted.

Using an example from the Mahabharat, Mr Gandhi said just like Arjun could see only the eye of the fish he was supposed to shoot an arrow through, he could also see only his goal – the 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 insult me as much as you want, I don’t want an apology,” he said. 

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is an ally of the Congress and part of the INDIA bloc, also backed Mr Gandhi and asked how Mr Thakur could bring up anyone’s caste.

“He has been a former minister. He has spoken about a lot of things. How can you ask about anyone’s caste? You can’t do this,” he fumed. 

The BJP MP responded by saying Mr Gandhi’s father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had opposed OBC reservation while the Congress of today wants 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?” he asked.