Watch: Nirmala Sitharaman's Face-Palm Moment In Lok Sabha On Rahul Gandhi's 'Halwa' Remark

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the NDA government today while speaking about the Budget 2024. Speaking in Lok Sabha, Gandhi reiterated that once Congress comes to power, it will carry out the caste census on the first go. He also alleged that the people of the country are not getting their due rights based on their percentage. Showing a picture of the Halwa ceremony in the lower house, Rahul Gandhi said that OBC or tribal or Dalit officers were not part of the Halwa ceremony. At this point, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was seen using her palm to cover her face in bemusement. 

"Budget ka halwa' is being distributed in this photo. I can't see one OBC or tribal or a Dalit officer in this. Desh ka halwa bant raha hai aur 73% hai hi nahi. 20 officers prepared the Budget of India...Hindustan ka halwa 20 logon ne baatne ka kaam kiya hai....Of the 20 people, only one was from the minority and one from the OBC. However, none of the two was present in this photo. They were sent back at the time of the photograph," said Rahul Gandhi. 

#WATCH | In Lok Sabha, LoP Rahul Gandhi shows a poster of the traditional Halwa ceremony, held at the Ministry of Finance before the Budget session.

He says, "Budget ka halwa' is being distributed in this photo. I can't see one OBC or tribal or a Dalit officer in this. Desh ka… pic.twitter.com/BiFRB0VTk3 — ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2024

Reacting to Nirmala Sitharaman's reaction, Rahul Gandhi later tweeted, "Today in Parliament, when I raised the issue of caste census, the Finance Minister laughed and ridiculed this serious issue. Such a dismissive response to the most important issue related to the lives of 90% of the country's population has exposed the intentions, mindset and motives of the BJP. I want to tell the BJP that we will make caste census a reality at all costs and provide justice to the deprived. INDIA will bring out the X-Ray of the country."

आज संसद में जब मैंने जातिगत जनगणना की बात उठाई तो वित्त मंत्री ने हंस कर इस गंभीर विषय का उपहास किया।

देश की 90% आबादी के जीवन से जुड़े सबसे महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दे पर ऐसी उपेक्षापूर्ण प्रतिक्रिया ने भाजपा की मंशा, मानसिकता और नीयत से पर्दा हटा दिया है।

मैं भाजपा को बता देना चाहता… pic.twitter.com/ihZkN7mppv

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 29, 2024

Before the Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that there were only 3 OBC officers among the top 90 bureaucrats. During the Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi promised - Jitani Aabadi, Utna Haq - saying that people would get their due representation as per the constituents of their population. 

Responding to Rahul Gandhi's remarks on bureaucrats, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Congress leader is unaware of what he speaks. "The present secretaries in the Government of India were recruited at the time of the Congress government," said Amit Shah, reminding Rahul Gandhi that he should question the Congress party for a lesser number of OBC secretaries at present. Shah also said that the Prime Minister of India is OBC but Rahul is counting the secretaries.