Parts of Thakur’s speech, in which he made comments of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s caste, were expunged. Thakur was responding to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha, wherein the Congress MP made a pitch for caste census in the country.

Sharing Thakur’s speech on X, PM Modi wrote, “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.”

Rahul, on his part, had accused Thakur of insulting him, and added that he did not want an apology from the BJP MP. “Abuse or insult me as hard as you can but don’t forget we will pass the caste census in this Parliament for sure,” the Leader of the Opposition said.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh hit back at PM Modi, saying, “This speech that the non-biological Prime Minister calls a ‘must hear’ is a highly abusive and unconstitutional tirade — and by sharing it, he has encouraged a serious breach of Parliamentary privilege.”

“Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur has further lowered the level of parliamentary debate by asking an MP and Leader of Opposition about his caste. On protests from the Opposition benches, Speaker Jagdambika Pal assured MPs that those portions of the speech would be removed,” Ramesh added.

“In a departure from all parliamentary norms – edited and uploaded portions of the speech expunged from the record of Parliament proceedings, Sansad TV uploaded the unedited speech, and the non-biological Prime Minister has praised it by sharing it publicly,” Ramesh said.

House proceedings were disrupted on Wednesday with the Opposition demanding an apology by Thakur. They also shouted “We Want Caste Census” in the Lok Sabha, echoing Rahul’s demand. This prompting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to lash out at the Congress, alleging that the opposition party was “trying to divide the country”.

Sources had earlier told The Indian Express that the Congress was also considering moving a Privilege motion against Thakur.