How can you ask about caste… what kind of question is this amidst the demand for caste census?

New Delhi: During the discussion on the budget in the monsoon session this time, in the last two days, the caste issue was heard more than the budget. During the discussion on the budget, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said that this time none of the 20 officers who prepared the budget is a Dalit. he/she said that 20 officers worked to prepare the country’s budget but out of these only one is a minority, one is an OBC and there is no Dalit tribal officer. Along with this, Rahul Gandhi also talked about caste census. Just a day after this statement, on Tuesday, there was a heated argument between the BJP and the opposition party (Congress – SP) in Parliament regarding caste. There was a lot of uproar inside the House after a statement by BJP MP Anurag Thakur. Anurag Thakur said that those who themselves do not know their caste are talking about caste census. However, the way SP chief Akhilesh Yadav intervened in this whole matter was discussed a lot. Akhilesh Yadav said that you cannot ask about caste.

What does it mean that you cannot ask about caste?
Now after whatever Akhilesh Yadav said in this entire matter, it is natural for this question to come to one’s mind that what does it mean that caste cannot be asked. Let us first know how this heated debate starts. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha and said that he/she should know that LOP (Leader of Opposition) does not mean Leader of Propaganda. While participating in the discussion on the budget, Anurag Thakur said that Rahul Gandhi should not become a reel leader and should understand that to become a real leader one has to speak the truth.

‘If you are demanding caste census then you will have to write your caste in it too’
Anurag Thakur took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and said that some people are obsessed with caste census these days. Those who themselves do not know their caste are talking about caste census. As soon as he/she said this, the Congress and other opposition parties started creating ruckus. On this Anurag Thakur quipped that if you are demanding caste census then you will also have to write your caste in it. Amidst the ruckus, Rahul Gandhi said that I will happily take all these abuses because just like Arjuna could only see the eye of the fish in Mahabharata, similarly I can also only see the eye of the fish. We will get the caste census done.

What caste you may ask?
In the midst of this entire uproar, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav stands up. Expressing his/her anger, he/she told Anurag Thakur that the caste of any member cannot be asked inside the House. How can you ask the caste. Akhilesh Yadav further said that how can you ask the caste. You ask the caste. When the uproar increased, the speaker pacified both the sides. That is, caste cannot be asked here.

‘I was looked down upon because I didn’t study abroad’
In another case, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a dig at Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy. Nirmala Sitharaman said that Saugata Roy belittled me because I did not study abroad, he/she talks about respecting the poor. The male chauvinist professor who is insulting women is not teaching in a foreign university himself. You should be ashamed. In fact, while participating in the discussion on the budget, Saugata Roy had said that the budget is not for the common man, but it is the Andhra-Bihar budget. I do not expect anything like Dr. Manmohan Singh from the Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman). Because she is not a PhD from Oxford, not even like Chidambaram, who has obtained a management degree from Harvard.