"Must Hear": PM's Shoutout For Anurag Thakur Amid Row Over House Speech

Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who has made headlines for heated exchanges with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lok Sabha yesterday, has been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his address.

"This speech by my young and energetic colleague, Shri @ianuragthakur is a must hear. A perfect mix of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance," the Prime Minister said, sharing a video of the five-time MP's address on X.

Mr Thakur, who represents Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, was speaking during the debate on Budget 2024 when he took a swipe at Mr Gandhi's statements on Mahabharata and said some people are "accidental Hindus" and their knowledge of Mahabharata is accidental too. In another remark that sparked a massive row, Mr Thakur made an apparent reference to Mr Gandhi's caste while questioning the Opposition's demand for a nationwide caste Census.

The remark drew a sharp response from the Opposition benches. Kannauj MP and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned how Mr Thakur can talk about someone's caste in the House. This was the second face-off between the two leaders yesterday over the Agnipath issue. The two earlier clashed during Mr Yadav's speech on the Budget. Responding to Mr Yadav's remarks that he went to a military school, Mr Thakur said he was a Captain in the territorial army and the Samajwadi Party leader must not preach to him. Mr Yadav responded that Mr Thakur is agitated because he did not get a ministerial berth in the third Narendra Modi government.

Rahul Gandhi, too, responded to Anurag Thakur's personal attack on him. The Leader of the Opposition interjected to say he should be given an opportunity to respond 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 (on Caste Census) passed here (in Parliament)," Mr Gandhi said.