New Delhi: Congress president and leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded an apology from former Union minister Anurag Thakur Thursday, a day after the BJP MP accused him of land-grabbing in Karnataka. He challenged Thakur to prove the allegations or resign as a Lok Sabha member.
As the Upper House began its business for the day, Kharge sought permission to raise the issue of Anurag Thakur’s remarks made during the waqf debate Wednesday.
Kharge, during Zero Hour, slammed Thakur’s “completely false and baseless charges” and said that the BJP was using Thakur to tarnish his image, but he would not “bow” down to the party. However, he said, if the allegations against him are proven true, he would resign from the Rajya Sabha.
While Thakur withdrew his “wild allegations” after being challenged, Kharge said, “the damage had already been done. All media outlets carried the story, and social media spread it, damaging my image and reputation”.
He also said, “After almost 60 years in politics, I don’t deserve this.”
“I expect an apology from the Leader of the House, as this is the least the ruling party can and must do. If Shri Thakur cannot prove his allegations, he has no right to be in the Parliament and should resign. And, if his allegations are proven, I will resign.”
अगर ये BJP के लोग मुझे डराकर झुकाना चाहते हैं, तो उन्हें याद दिला दूं कि मैं टूट जाऊंगा लेकिन कभी झुकूंगा नहीं !
I rise in deep anguish. My life has always been an open book, full of struggles and battles, but I have always upheld the highest values in public life. After almost… pic.twitter.com/SfykZTnqAY
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 3, 2025
On Wednesday, during a debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, Thakur alleged that Kharge’s name had surfaced in relation to land-grabbing in Karnataka under the waqf bill.
The Lok Sabha MP claimed that only “200 people have control over waqf properties” and that the “land of poor Hindus, Dalits, tribals, and backward classes has been taken over, and no one speaks against this injustice. Why is the Opposition afraid of addressing this issue?”
Adding that the name of Congress “national president Mallikarjun Kharge also comes up in the scams that happened in Karnataka”, he said, “There is a Congress government in Karnataka. They collect Rs 450 crore annually for Karnataka temples. Who answers for where they spend it? You should have given an account of every rupee. Did you take money from any mosque? Did you take money from any Waqf Board?”
He said he would substantiate his allegations, but after protests from the Congress, the remarks were expunged by the Speaker.
On Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rose to speak after Kharge and said that “as colleagues, we must have high regard for each other”. However, he then sat down again amid interruptions from several Opposition leaders.
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhanker urged members not to “damage reputations earned over decades”, adding that in this “electronic” age and age of social media, “anything thing said gets traction in microseconds”, and therefore, the remarks being expunged hardly make a difference.
He then referred to the controversy last week in the House over Rajput icon Rana Sanga, saying an issue was made over the remarks even though they are expunged from records. Whatever has been expunged should never gain “traction”, he said. At this, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh stood up and demanded an apology from him for linking the two issues.
The Vice President of India also said he had directed the parliamentary ethics committee to investigate how to prevent expunged comments from tarnishing a leader’s image.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: NDA allies’ balancing act—flaunt Muslim welfare report card as they support Waqf (Amendment) Bill
