Rahul Gandhi’s Speech Sparks Viral Reaction from Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP Responds

The incident of Nirmala Sitharaman facepalming in Lok Sabha has gone viral on the web. This occurred when Rahul Gandhi brought up the traditional pre-Budget ‘Halwa’ ceremony and the lack of variety in the process – a shortage of Dalits, Other Backward Classes, Adivasis in its creation.

The BJP retaliated against the Leader of Opposition for his critique of the government’s alleged disregard of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC, asserting that the Congress’ history is “filled with examples of hindering reservation” for these communities. It also accused the Congress of being “anti-Hindu”.

Mr. Gandhi, displaying an image of the ‘Halwa’ ceremony, mentioned that 20 officers worked on formulating the country’s budget and only one of them belonged to a minority group and one was from the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

“20 officers have created the budget of India, in which there is only one minority and one OBC. The budget halwa is being distributed, but 73% of the country’s people are not part of it,” stated Mr. Gandhi.

Upon this, the Finance Minister covered her face with her hands. A nod of disapproval ensued.

The response did not go unnoticed by the Congress leader.

“The Finance Minister is chuckling. It is quite surprising. This is not a matter for amusement, madam. This concerns caste census. It will revolutionize the country,” stated Mr. Gandhi.

Mr. Gandhi alleged that the main goal of the Budget is to reinforce the framework of big businesses, political monopoly that undermines the democratic structure, and the deep state or the agencies.

In retaliation, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh shared on X images of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s board members which included Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, and inquired which among them belong to OBC, SC and ST categories.

“Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Board for your perusal. Identify OBCs, SCs and STs for the use of the Congress and its troll army,” he wrote on X along with a screenshot of the foundation’s website displaying its board members.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya alleged that the Congress has been “anti-SC/ST and OBC” since Independence.

“It was the Congress which kept (the) Kelkar Committee recommendation (for Backward Commission) made in 1957 in cold storage until PM Modi gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission in 2018, that too despite Congress’ opposition,” said Mr. Malviya.

Rahul Gandhi drew comparisons from the Mahabharata, and criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Budget stating that there is an atmosphere of fear in the country, adding that the country is now ensnared in a “Chakravyuh of lotus,” referring to the BJP’s symbol.