On Friday, Sumitra Mahajan made her displeasure clear after Rahul Gandhi appeared to break decorum. She said: “I am not opposed to a hug, but the decorum of the House must be maintained.”
On Friday, Sumitra Mahajan made her displeasure clear after Rahul Gandhi appeared to break decorum. She said: “I am not opposed to a hug, but the decorum of the House must be maintained.”
He is known for his hugs, but this was one hug Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not expecting.
After a no-holds barred and scathing criticism of Modi on several issues including Rafale jet deal today, Congress president Rahul Gandhi walked across the green-carpeted well of Lok Sabha to Modi and hugged him, a gesture which took the Treasury Bench members by surprise.
Gandhi's unexpected gesture, which quickly became a favoured video clip for television channels, came during a debate on no-confidence motion moved by the TDP against the Modi government. Gandhi's speech was frequently disrupted and prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for 15 minutes. When he resumed his speech, Gandhi continued his attack. Just before wrapping up, he strode over to Modi for the now-famous hug.
Modi initially looked nonplussed and did not stand up to hug him, but recovered quickly and called Gandhi back and patted him on the back. He also appeared to say a few words, which were inaudible. BJP MPs sitting behind Modi watched the brief interaction open-mouthed as the prime minister smiled at Gandhi as he walked back to his seat.
"This is what it means to be a Hindu," Gandhi said after coming back to his seat amid applause from his party members, including his mother Sonia Gandhi and other leaders present who heartily thumped their desks.
Sharply criticised for his reported remarks that "Congress is a Muslim party", Gandhi said, "Prime Minister Modi, BJP and ...have taught me what it means to be a Congress person, the meaning of being a real Indian, and what it means to be a real Hindu. For this, I thank them." He also said his opponents may hate him, call him "Pappu" but he has no anger, hatred against the Prime Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
This is likely the first time that an opposition leader has hugged the prime minister in the house, especially during a no-confidence motion. Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur stood up and took objection to Gandhi's hug.
Speaker Mahajan also gently reminded Gandhi that this was the country's legislature and not a place for such gestures.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's surprise gesture to hug Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha after his speech during the no-confidence debate had Twitter abuzz today with jokes aplenty and the hashtags "pappukijhappi" and "hugplomacy" trending on the microblogging site.
Many remembered "Munnabhai", the character from the eponymous Bollywood film who hugged his opponents in a bid to win them over and prove the relevance of Gandhian values.
As visuals of the Congress president walking across the House to hug Modi were played repeatedly across television channels and social media platforms, some recalled the prime minister's own penchant for hugging leaders and some referred to Gandhi's mocking moniker Pappu.
"@narendramodi gets a taste of his own hugs from @RahulGandhi! And that too minutes after @HarsimratBadal_ said that Parliament is not for "Munna Bhai's puppy- jhappis," a Twitter user said.
Another user Ankur Singh tweeted, "even more awkward hug #Hugplomacy." "Pappu becomes Munna Bhai!" Sitanshu Shukla said.
Given Modi's visible surprise, one user brought up the issue of consent and called it the "most forced hug" of all time.
Priyanka Bansal tweeted, "The most forced hug of all times probably. Consent Ka kya, Mr. Gandhi?#NoConfidenceMotion #PappuKiJhappi" Modi, who initially looked nonplussed and did not stand up to hug him, recovered quickly and called Gandhi back and patted him on the back.
Gandhi later appeared to be winking, a picture which went viral with Twitter users drawing a parallel between the Congress president and Malayalam actor Priya Prakash Varrier who became an internet sensation with her wink from a film song, "Manikya Malaraya Poovi".
"Rahul Gandhi's Priya Varrier moment after 'The Hug' #ModiTrustVote," Vipin Vijayan tweeted.
Another Twitter user, Harsh Singhavi said, "Pappu is learning from priya" "Move out Priya Warrier you have got a tough Competition in Rahul Gandhi!! On a serious note this is what Pappu and Congress has reduced Parliament to. Cheap antics ,Fake Jhapis, Sly winks," added another tweet.
Gandhi said in his speech that Modi, the BJP and the RSS had taught him the meaning of being a member of the Congress party, an Indian and a Hindu.
"Being an Indian and being a Congressman means no matter what falsehood someone speaks against you, you do not harbour ill-will against them. For this, I thank you, Gandhi said.
He concluded his speech by saying, "You can call me things, You can call me Pappu, but I do not have any hate for you .
With inputs from PTI
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