Rahul Gandhi considers himself 'privileged', wants to be treated differently: Anurag Thakur

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the Congress leader considers himself a "privileged" MP and wants to be treated differently than other Lok Sabha members.

Thakur's dig came after Gandhi claimed that his right as an MP to ask a supplementary question in Lok Sabha was taken away as Speaker Om Birla did not allow him to ask one.

Gandhi said he was hurt by the action as it was the duty of the Speaker to protect his right to speak and ask a supplementary question.

Though Gandhi had asked one supplementary question, Speaker Om Birla announced the end of the Question Hour after Thakur's answer. The Question Hour is held in Lok Sabha between 11 am and 12 noon.

"Some people consider themselves privileged. They want to be treated differently than other MPs. They want to ask questions even after the Question Hour is over... The answers to his questions were provided in writing to him but still Gandhi and other Congress members made noise because this was their intention from the beginning," Thakur told reporters.

The Minister of State for Finance noted that Gandhi in his remarks to reporters had said that he had asked from the Union government a list of 500 biggest loan defaulters while, Thakur added, his question in Lok Sabha sought the names of 50 biggest defaulters.

The BJP leader said Gandhi had wanted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to answer his question, even though it is he who responds to questions for the finance ministry during the Question Hour.

"It just shows that he sees himself as a privileged member and does not want to be treated the same way as others are," Thakur said.