As photos of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holding the hand of actor Poonam Kaur during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana went viral with 'derogatory' comments, the actor shut down the trolling and explained that Rahul Gandhi held her hand during the walk when she almost "slipped and toppled". "This is absolutely demeaning of you, remember Prime Minister spoke about narishakti," the actor tweeted in reply to BJP's Priti Gandhi's tweet. Gandhi shared the photo of Rahul Gandhi holding Poonam Kaur's hand and wrote, "Following the footsteps of his great grandfather!!".
Congress tore into the trolling as Jairam Ramesh called Priti Gandhi a 'warped and sick mind'. Party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said Rahul Gandhi indeed is following in the footsteps of his grandfather and is uniting the country. "You need treatment, your mental state can prove harmful for your family and friends," Pawan Khera wrote.
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi took a strong stand and defended the 'footsteps' of the 'grandfather' as she tweeted, "If you mean, it leads to women walking shoulder to shoulder with men&hand in hand to strengthen & take the nation forward, then not just Pandit Nehru’s vision of India but also Babasaheb Ambedkar’s & the freedom fighters’ dream of equal India will be realised. Sit down please."
{{/usCountry}}Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi took a strong stand and defended the 'footsteps' of the 'grandfather' as she tweeted, "If you mean, it leads to women walking shoulder to shoulder with men&hand in hand to strengthen & take the nation forward, then not just Pandit Nehru’s vision of India but also Babasaheb Ambedkar’s & the freedom fighters’ dream of equal India will be realised. Sit down please."
{{/usCountry}}Congress MP Jothimani said BJP's Priti Gandhi is a victim of an ideology which can drive women to this low. "Rahul Gandhi is precisely walking against the same RSS ideology to save people like you from deep-rooted hatred. Pls come and walk for a day with us. You will feel better," Jothimani tweeted.
Actor Poonam Kaur joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra and walked with Rahul Gandhi as the Congress leader interacted with the weavers of Telangana. "His concern, respect and protective nature towards women is something which touched my heart. I with the weavers' team heartfully thank Rahul Gandhi ji for hearing the weavers' issues," the actor wrote.