Nirmala Sitharaman reaction video, Rahul Gandhi’s speech, and the BJP response

Rahul Gandhi criticized the lack of diversity in India's budget preparation, prompting a viral reaction from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The BJP responded, accusing Congress of neglecting OBC, SC, and ST communities historically.

During the recent session of the Lok Sabha, Congress president Rahul Gandhi raised a controversy by pointing out that India’s budget had no diversity. Showing a picture of the pre- Budget Halwa ceremony Gandhi noted that among all the 20 officers none is a face of any particular minority community and one face of OBC. He said: “20 officers have prepared the budget of India, in which there is only one minority and one OBC…The budget halwa is being distributed, but 73% of the country people are not included. ”

This comment elicited a reaction from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that went viral, with her rolling her eyes and shaking her head disapprovingly. Gandhi picked on this by saying, ‘The Finance Minister is laughing , This is not a laughing matter , Madam This is about caste census It will change the country. ’

Gandhi also pointed at the concentration of powers and resources in the hands of big business and political elites to the detriment of democratic institutions and citizens’ participation. In response, the BJP gave him bitter counter-responses to his speech. National General Secretary B L Santhosh while responding to the Congress party’s demand for an apology, posted on social media the list of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s board of directors and asked the Congress party to point out the OBCs, SCs, and STs on the list. Echoing the same sentiment, BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said, “Congress has been till date, anti-SC/ST and OBC. ”

To further his argument, Malviya pointed at the past behavior of Congress in the historical context that, “It was the Congress which kept the Kelkar Committee recommendation for Backward Commission made in 1957 in cold storage until PM Modi gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission in 2018, that too despite Congress’ opposition. ”

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Condemns Doda Terror Attack, Calls for Action

Speaking on the Mahabharata and calling for a referendum on the BJP’s actions, Gandhi said that people are living in fear and likened the situation in India to the Chakravyuh of lotus, the symbol of the BJP. This episode has raised a spirited discussion regarding the status of representation and inclusion from the Indian context especially in the matter of governance and the budget preparation.