Anurag Thakur jabs Rahul Gandhi over ‘political failure’

New Delhi:  Using witty wordplay, former Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday took a swipe at Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by pointing out similarities between the unsuccessful run of Congress-controlled National Herald newspaper and the latter’s political career.

Indirectly targeting Gandhi, Thakur said, “The Congress has failed to launch repeatedly and take it among people, but it fails repeatedly.”

“I am not referring to the person that you are reminded of by my statement. But I am here to talk about National Herald,” he said, in a tongue-in-cheek remark.

The 50-year-old, four-time MP from Himachal Pradesh has a track record of run-ins with Gandhi and locking horns with the Congress leader over several issues in and outside Parliament.

Earlier this month, during a debate on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Thakur countered Gandhi’s allegations that China had encroached 4,000 sq km of Indian territory.

Thakur retaliated by highlighting that not even an inch of the Indian territory had been encroached by anyone: “The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister visited the front and boosted the morale of the military so that they could stand up to the Chinese challenge.”

Referring to the Doklam standoff of 2017, Thakur said Gandhi was enjoying Chinese soup with the that country’s officials but did not show solidarity with Indian soldiers.

“Which foundation got money from the Chinese government?” he asked, raising questions on the alleged Rs 1.35 crore Chinese donation to Congress-controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

He also slammed the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, for giving the slogan of “Hindi, Chini, Bhai, Bhai” while China backstabbed India by resorting to aggression and expansionist policies.

In December 2004, the firebrand BJP leader sought to school the Congress leader following the latter’s Constitution jibe and threat to the statute.

The former Union Minister had mocked Congress leaders for carrying a copy of the Constitution but remaining ignorant about the number of pages in it, as they had never read it.

Speaking in Parliament, Thakur also held a red copy of the Constitution, which is often waved by Gandhi, and said that it mentioned clearly that it was the statute’s strength which withstood the dark period of the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In July 2024, Thakur, while taking part in a debate on OBCs and caste census had accused Gandhi of being ‘Leader of Propaganda’ instead of Leader of Opposition.

He went on to indirectly target the LoP by saying the “caste of the person seeking a caste census is itself a big secret”.

Without naming Rajiv Gandhi, Thakur also used the term “RG1” to refer to the former Prime Minister for allegedly opposing reservations to OBCs.

His acerbic attacks had visibly hurt Rahul Gandhi, who even demanded a chance in the House to respond to Thakur’s diatribe.

Gandhi had claimed that the caste census would be approved by the House, no matter how much the ruling party members insulted him.

–IANS