Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the controversy surrounding Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's alleged ‘flying kiss’ in the Lok Sabha, saying the saffron party is “so used to the hatred that they cannot accept love”.
Also read: Amit Malviya shares 'flying kiss video', calls it shameful act by Rahul Gandhi
“I was at the visitors' gallery...I saw when he was leaving, he did it as a gesture of affection. He did not say or do it for just women. It was just a genuine gesture...like he's been called Mohabbat Ki Dukaan,” the Shiv Sena MP told news agency PTI.
After Rahul Gandhi addressed the lower house of the Parliament for the first time after being reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP, he reminded of his famous hug and wink which took place during the last no-confidence motion against the Modi government in 2018 - and allegedly made a similar gesture while leaving. Soon, a massive political controversy erupted, with the BJP calling it “shameful” and an “insult to women”.
Women BJP MPs file complaint against Rahul Gandhi
{{/usCountry}}After Rahul Gandhi addressed the lower house of the Parliament for the first time after being reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP, he reminded of his famous hug and wink which took place during the last no-confidence motion against the Modi government in 2018 - and allegedly made a similar gesture while leaving. Soon, a massive political controversy erupted, with the BJP calling it “shameful” and an “insult to women”.
Women BJP MPs file complaint against Rahul Gandhi
{{/usCountry}}The women MPs of the saffron party also lodged a formal complaint with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla against the Congress MP, accusing the Congress MP of “insulting women MPs".
A letter signed by union minister Shobha Karandlaje and other women MPs alleged that Gandhi “behaved in an indecent manner” and made “inappropriate gestures towards Union minister Smriti Irani while she was addressing the House”. “The member has not only insulted the dignity of women members in the House, but it has also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this august House,” it added.
Smriti Irani slams Rahul Gandhi
Union Minister Smriti Irani called Rahul Gandhi a “misogynistic man” over his alleged ‘flying kiss’ during her speech on the no-confidence motion - without really naming him. “The person who spoke before me misbehaved. Only a misogynistic man can gesture a flying kiss to female parliamentarians. It shows the khandhan he comes from, and what his family and party feel about women. Such undignified conduct was never before seen in the Parliament of the country,” she said.