Disappointing to see 'caste' brought into serious debate in Parliament: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said it is disappointing that caste is being mentioned during serious debates in Parliament and urged people to move beyond these ”narrow identities” in the 21st century. His remarks came days after Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said his position as the Vice President of India has been insulted by the opposition members after TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicked him derisively while protesting against the suspension of MPs.

Dhankhar also claimed it was an insult to his background as a Jat, his caste, and a as someone who comes from a family of farmers.

”It is disappointing to note that ‘caste’ is brought into a serious debate on an important subject. It is also disappointing that the ‘place of birth’ of an individual is used as an argument to criticise the individual,” he said in a post on X.

Chidambaram said, ”I cannot recall if anyone asked about the caste of Mahatma Gandhi or Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel or the place of birth of C.F. Andrews or Annie Besant. Can we move beyond these narrow identities and embrace the norms and values of humanity in the 21st century.”