Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: In a heated Parliament session on Friday, defence minister Rajnath Singh stood up in the Lok Sabha to strongly condemn remarks made by Rahul Gandhi while he was speaking, setting off a sharp exchange in the House.Singh objected to Rahul’s “magician” remark targeting prime minister Narendra Modi, saying such comments “cannot be condemned enough” and accused the Congress leader of undermining national sentiment and disrespecting the sacrifices of the armed forces. Rahul had taken a veiled jibe, referring to the “Magician of Operation Sindoor, Balakot has been caught,” and added, “everybody knows there is a partnership between the magician and the businessman.”Rajnath Singh, reacting to this, called for action against the Congress leader, including his expulsion.The remark drew further objection from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who said the use of the word “magician” was unparliamentary.The exchange took place during a special session of Parliament convened to discuss women’s reservation and delimitation.Rahul Gandhi, speaking during the debate, argued that the Bill was less about representation of women and more about political engineering through constituency redrawing. According to him, the proposed delimitation exercise would alter the electoral map in a way that benefits the ruling BJP and undermines existing social justice frameworks. He also alleged that the move was designed to reduce the political influence of backward communities and marginalised sections.Opposition parties have raised concerns that linking the implementation of women’s quota with delimitation could have wider consequences for federal balance, regional representation and caste-based political participation.Follow live updates: ‘Stop hiding like cowards behind our armed forces’, Rahul’s remark leads to major showdown in LS
