The moment Congress leader Nirmala Sitharaman covered her face with her hands has gone viral across the internet. It happened when Rahul Gandhi commented on the traditional pre-Budget ‘Halwa’ ceremony and the lack of diversity in it – the absence of Dalits, Other Backward Classes and Adivasis in the run-up to it.
The BJP hit back at the Opposition Leader’s criticism that the government is ignoring Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, claiming that the Congress’s history is “replete with instances of obstructing reservations” for these communities. It also accused the Congress of being “anti-Hindu”.
Showing a picture of a ‘halwa’ ceremony, Gandhi said 20 officials work on preparing the state budget, of which only one is from an ethnic minority group and one from an Other Backward Class (OBC) background.
“Twenty officials have prepared India’s budget, but only one includes minorities and OBCs. Budget halwa is being distributed but 73 per cent of the population is not included,” Gandhi said.
At this point, the Finance Minister put his hands over his face and nodded disapprovingly.
This reaction was also echoed by Congress leaders.
“The finance minister is laughing. It is quite astonishing. This is no laughing matter, madam. This is a caste census issue. It will change the country,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi alleged that the sole purpose of the budget is to strengthen corporate frameworks, political monopolies and the deep state and government agencies which are destroying democratic structures.
In response, BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh posted pictures of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation trustees, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram, on Page X and asked who among them belong to OBC, SC and ST categories.
“Look at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation board of directors. Identify OBC, SC and ST for the Congress and its troll army to exploit,” he wrote to X, attaching a screenshot of the foundation’s website showing its board members.
BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya alleged that the Indian National Congress has been “anti-SC/ST and OBC” since independence.
“The 1957 Kelkar Committee recommendations (on the Backward Commission) were kept in cold storage by the Congress until PM Modi gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission in 2018, that too despite opposition from the Congress,” Malviya said.
Quoting from the Mahabharata, Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Budget and said there was an atmosphere of fear in the country, adding that India was now in the “lotus chakravudh”, the party’s symbol.
