The buzz around Congress chief Rahul Gandhi hugging PM Narendra Modi in Parliament refuses to die down. Interestingly, while the ruling party has criticised the act, NDA leaders, including the PM, were caught on camera laughing during the incident in the Lok Sabha on 20 July.
Even Rajnath Singh was seen smiling.
However, after PM Modi mocked Gandhi’s “dramatics”, all party leaders seemed to have unanimously concluded that the Congress chief had broken the decorum of the Lok Sabha.
While Rajnath Singh called it a “Chipko Andolan”, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Rahul was on drugs. BJP MP Kirron Kher said that Rahul Gandhi should head to Bollywood for his love of “doing drama in the house”.
“Loafing Out Loud”: Twitter Has a Field Day
On 23 July, Goa BJP spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik added to the string of names being used to criticise Gandhi, by saying that he had winked “like a loafer”. Meanwhile, the Opposition party MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Tuesday, 24 July, hit back at the BJP leader calling him a "bootlegger".
"Naik's party (BJP) has lost credentials and lost touch with human nature. Naik is a bootlegger," Lourenco told reporters on the sidelines of ongoing Monsoon Session of the Assembly.
Lourenco, who represents Curtorim Assembly segment in South Goa, said Gandhi was neither involved in any illegal activity nor in any kind of crime.
BJP has called Rahul Gandhi a lot of names, but he has been decent enough. He is the best human being India has ever produced. It is high time the BJP understands the messages. The BJP is a party that is spreading hatred.Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Congress MLA
Even Twitter did not take too kindly to the BJP leader’s comments.
Those who called out Naik for the comment seemed to have the same question to ask:
‘Are Winks More Offensive than Mob Lynchings in India?’
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