Reacting to his remarks, BJP leader and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at Rahul Gandhi describing him as ‘Bal Budhi’ and a ‘divisive man’. He asserted, “His grandfather divided India to become Prime Minister, but we will not allow another partition of India to make this divisive man the Prime Minister.” Continuing his caste rhetoric, yesterday (24th August), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that no SC, ST, or OBC woman has ever won the Miss India contest.
Incidentally, it is a beauty pageant that is organised by private entities and doesn’t have reservations. Nonetheless, the Congress leader made this remark about the Miss India winners while alleging that 90% of Indians don’t have representation within the system and demanding a nationwide caste census, sparking a fresh controversy. He claimed that he had checked the list of Miss Indias and could not find a SC, ST or OBC name in it.
Soon, netizens slammed Rahul Gandhi for doing caste and religious profiling of beauty contests. Several BJP leaders also took a jab at the Gandhi scion while pointing out that his remarks were not only factually incorrect but also wreaked casteism and were an attempt to divide the country. Some of the BJP leaders pointed out the factual inaccuracy in his bizarre commentary.
Others said that he was now asking for reservations even in beauty contests adding that the Congress leader could soon do it also in the entertainment and sports fields. A few of the BJP leaders lam.