New Delhi [India], February 3 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly reacted to the comments made by the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, in Parliament on Monday, questioning whether the LoP understands the representation given to SC, ST, and OBC groups in the union government.
"In the last 2-3 years, Rahul Gandhi has been talking about SC, ST, OBC. The Prime Minister is the biggest OBC face in the country. Can he not see that? PM of the country is an OBC. He is the most popular leader in the world. Can he not see that? Is Rahul Gandhi blind?.. I am an ST. I am working as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of the country. MoS Arjun Ram Meghwal is working as the Law Minister, he is an SC," Rijiju said.
Attacking the Congress, he also questioned whether an OBC Prime Minister had ever been appointed during the Congress and the UPA government.
"Did the Congress party ever make a Tribal or Dalit the Law Minister of the country? Did Congress make an OBC the Prime Minister? I think Rahul Gandhi doesn't know what he says," he added.
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske slammed Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on Maharashtra's voter list, calling his remarks "very childish."
"I used to think of him as the leader of the opposition, but how he has talked about childish things, like asking for the voter's list of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, it is already available on the ECI website, declared by the Election Commission. This was very childish, this was not the speech of the leader of the opposition," Mhaske told ANI.
Earlier, during his speech in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi mentioned the caste census and raised the issue of the participation of Dalits, OBC and Adivasis in the institutions of the country.
"We are going to run a parallel track, on one side revolutionizing the participation of Dalits, OBC and Adivasis in the ruling of this country, in the institutions of this country, in the distribution of wealth of this country and on the other side, parallel track challenge the Chinese and participate in the revolution, defeat the Chinese in electric motors, batteries, solar panels and wind. That is the first two parts of any Presidential address that any INDIA gathbandhan leader would give you," the LoP added.