Flying Kiss Row: Smriti Irani slammed Rahul Gandhi over his accusation
Union Minister Smriti Irani today accused Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of blowing a "flying kiss" while leaving parliament after his speech during the No-Confidence Motion debate in Lok Sabha.
"Only a misogynist man can blow a flying kiss to parliament that seats women MPs," Smriti Irani said on Rahul Gandhi, who was reinstated in parliament yesterday. The action "lacked dignity", she charged.
"Never before has the "misogynistic behaviour" of a man been so visible in parliament. When the House of the people - where laws are made to protect the dignity of women - during the course of a session stands witness to a man's misogyny, my question is should he be brought to task?" she questioned.
The Congress insisted that Rahul Gandhi was gesturing towards MPs of the ruling BJP who were shouting slogans. "Rahul Gandhi gestured towards the treasury benches as he was leaving with a flying kiss as he had called them brothers and sisters. He did not direct it towards any particular minister or MP, and not at all towards Smriti Irani," a Congress leader said.
But women BJP MPs demanded action and complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that Mr Gandhi had insulted women with his alleged "indecent gesture".
BJP MP Poonam Mahajan, referring to the alleged flying kiss, told NDTV that Rahul Gandhi's gesture showed his upbringing is not "correct."
"All those sitting in the press gallery could also see what he did. His gesture was very shameful. When you are a member of parliament, you should know what kind of language to be used," she said.
Responding to the criticism, Congress's Manickam Tagore accused Smriti Irani of "Rahul-phobia" and asked her to snap out of it.
The Opposition countered that the Congress leader was showing affection towards his political opponents. "It was a gesture of affection towards the treasury benches, but BJP doesn't understand any love," said Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Rahul Gandhi was the opening speaker on Day 2 of the No-Confidence Debate in the Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate on Thursday.
This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi's theatrics have ignited a controversy. In 2018, he hugged the PM and, while returning to his seat, winked at colleagues, creating a storm and sparking memes.