Sitharaman’s Facepalm At Gandhi’s 'Desh Ka Halwa' Remark On Budget Goes Viral | Watch

A video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reacting with a facepalm and a dismissive smile to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Desh ka halwa” comment during the Lok Sabha debate on the Union Budget 2024 has gone viral on social media.

On Monday, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi delivered a scathing critique of the Modi government during the Lok Sabha debate. Referring to a traditional photo from the “halwa ceremony,” a pre-budget event at the Ministry of Finance, Gandhi questioned the absence of OBC, tribal, or Dalit officers in the ceremony.

“Budget ka halwa is being distributed in this photo. I can’t see one OBC or tribal or a Dalit officer in this. Desh ka halwa bant raha hai aur 73% hai hi nahi. 20 officers prepared the Budget of India…Hindustan ka halwa 20 logon ne baatne ka kaam kiya hai,” Gandhi remarked.

Immediately after Gandhi’s comment, Sitharaman was seen in the video doing a facepalm and nodding with a dismissive smile.

Gandhi slams Sitharaman’s “dismissive response”

Following the session, Gandhi shared the photo of the halwa ceremony along with Sitharaman’s reaction on his social media handle ‘X’. In his post, he criticised the Finance Minister’s “dismissive response” to the issue.

“Today in Parliament, when I raised the issue of caste census, the Finance Minister laughed and ridiculed this serious issue. Such a dismissive response to the most important issue related to the lives of 90% of the country’s population has exposed the intentions, mindset and motives of the BJP,” Gandhi wrote.

He further added, “I want to tell the BJP that we will make caste census a reality at all costs and provide justice to the deprived. INDIA will bring out the X-Ray of the country.”

In his speech today, Gandhi used the ‘chakravyuh’ metaphor to describe the current political climate, suggesting that a small group is trapping the nation in a “chakravyuh.”

In a speech that invoked the Mahabharat and caused a commotion in the House, leading to frequent interventions by Speaker Om Birla, the former Congress chief alleged that the Union Budget’s primary aim is to bolster big businesses, entrench political monopoly, and support the deep state and its agencies.

“There is an atmosphere of fear and that fear has pervaded every aspect of our country. In the BJP only one man is allowed to dream to be the prime minister. If the defence minister wants to be PM, there is a big problem, there is fear. This fear has been spread throughout the country…why is it that my friends in the BJP are terrified, ministers are terrified, farmers, workers are terrified?” Gandhi asked.