The Pune unit of the Congress party on Friday staged a protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur for his caste remark at Rahul Gandhi in Parliament.
"Those whose caste is not known, talk about the caste census. I want to remind the Speaker that in this House itself, a former prime minister RG-1 (Rajiv Gandhi) had opposed reservation for OBCs," Thakur said.
In response, Rahul Gandhi said, "Whoever raises the issues of Adivasi, Dalit and the backwards, is abused. I will accept these abuses willingly...Anurag Thakur has abused me and insulted me, but I do not want any apology."
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav intervened, questioning Thakur on how one could inquire about a person's caste. "How can you ask about caste?" Yadav asked Thakur in Parliament.
Meanwhile, led by Congress' Pune city chief Arvind Shinde, many of the party's former MLAs, former corporators, office-bearers, Youth Congress leaders, National Students' Union of India (NSUI), etc., joined the protest.
Speaking to the media, Shinde said, "Rahul Gandhi had only asked when the caste census will take place in the country, but the former Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur asked his caste. This is shameful. Anurag Thakur should be disqualified from the Lok Sabha. This is our demand."
