Last Updated on 30/07/2024 by Ankita Jain
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday targeted the government in the House by citing the photo of the ‘Halwa Ceremony’ held before the Union Budget. He said that ‘the budget halwa is being distributed but the country is not getting the halwa’. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was sitting in front of Rahul Gandhi’s speech, laughed and held her head.
However, Speaker Om Birla did not allow Rahul Gandhi to show the photo. Referring to the photo, Rahul Gandhi said, ‘I want to explain this photo. This budget halwa is being distributed. In this photo, I do not see any OBC officer, no tribal officer, no Dalit officer. What is happening? The country’s halwa is being distributed and 73 percent is nowhere in it.’ Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, sitting in front, held her head on this comment of Rahul Gandhi.
‘The country is not getting any halwa’
Rahul further said, ‘You people are eating halwa and the rest of the country is not getting halwa. We have found out, 20 officers have prepared the budget, I have their names, that means 20 people have distributed the halwa to India. Out of those 20 people, only two are from 90 percent, one minority and one OBC and none of them is in this photo. That means you have put them at the back in the photo. You did not allow them to come in the photo.’
’95 per cent people want caste census’
He said, ‘I wanted the issue of caste census to be raised in the budget. 95 percent people want caste census. Dalits want it, tribals want it, backward classes want it, poor general category people want it, minorities want it because everyone wants to find out what our participation is.’
Rahul said, ‘I am seeing that the government keeps distributing Halwa and who is distributing it, the same 2-3 percent people and who is getting it distributed, the same 2-3 percent… The Finance Minister is smiling, it is amazing. This is no laughing matter Madam. The country will change with the caste census.’