Those Cheering Him Equally Responsible: Kiren Rijiju's 'Bal Buddhi' Jibe At Rahul Gandhi Over 'No Dalit, Tribal Or OBC In Miss India' Remarks

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday (25 August) strongly criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks over absence of Dalit, Tribal, or OBC women in the Miss India beauty pageant.

Further, the Union Minister also slammed those people who are cheering the Congress leader on his 'Bal Buddhi' remarks.

Rijiju, in a post on X, rebuked Rahul Gandhi, stating, "Now, he wants reservations in Miss India competitions, films, sports! It is not only an issue of 'Bal Budhi' (childish mentality), but the people who cheer him are equally responsible too!"

The Union Minister further said that “while childish behaviour might be entertaining, it should not come at the expense of ridiculing or undermining the backward communities through divisive tactics”.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, criticised the Narendra Modi-led Central government on Saturday, noting that there were no Dalit, Tribal, or OBC women in the Miss India beauty pageant.

Speaking at a Samvidhan Samman Sammelan in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said, "I checked the list of Miss India to see if there would be any Dalit or tribal woman in it, but there was no women from Dalit, tribal or OBC. Still, the media talks about dance, music, cricket, Bollywood but does not talk about farmers and labourers".

In his address, Gandhi also renewed his call for a nationwide caste-based census, asserting that 90 per cent of the country's population is 'sitting out of the system'.

“For the Congress, the caste census is the foundation of policy making. It is a tool for policy making. We cannot make policies in the reality of India without a caste census. Just like our Constitution, which is a guide in a way and it is being attacked every day, a caste census, a socio-economic survey, an institutional survey will be our second guide," he said.

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