New Delhi
“You may call me Pappu, but I don’t hate you,” Rahul Gandhi said, looking directly at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then walking across to embrace him. It may not have been an “earthquake” but the Congress president’s jaw-dropping gesture during the no-confidence motion debate in parliament came close to it, felt many lawmakers.
The Congress president had been ridiculed for saying in a past session that if he was allowed to speak in the house, there would be an “earthquake”.
Earlier, in his sharpest attack on the Prime Minister on subjects ranging from the Rafale deal to GST (Goods and Services Tax), demonetisation and foreign policy, Rahul Gandhi had said repeatedly: “You can’t look me in the eye.” The PM, sitting directly across, smiled. Then came the twist.
“You can abuse me, you can call me Pappu, but I don’t have a speck of hatred against you. I will take out this hatred out of you and turn it into love. I am the Congress,” said Mr Gandhi. He quickly left his seat and walked over to the prime minister, who was seen making a questioning gesture with his hand.
The PM looked stumped as Mr Gandhi leaned in and enveloped the prime minister in a bear hug. As the Congress chief started walking away, the PM recovered and grabbed his sleeve. He was seen saying something into Mr Gandhi’s ear and patting him on his back.
Back in his seat, the 47-year-old was seen winking at fellow Congress MPs. “Score” — many Congress lawmakers appeared to say without words.
Sonia Gandhi told NDTV she was “very happy” with son Rahul’s performance and “I am happy the media is changing too.”
Lawmakers across the house cheered and thumped their desks wildly. Opposition members gave Mr Gandhi a standing ovation.
Congress leaders like Shashi Tharoor used the hashtag #BhukampAaGaya.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who was seen grinning throughout the Rahul Gandhi-PM Modi Instagram moment, said “such conduct is against the rules of the house.”
Along with some Congress MPs, even ruling party members were seen on their feet. One exception was minister Harsimrat Kaur of the Akali Dal, who said: “This is a house, not for Munnabhai’s pappi jhappi.”
The ruling BJP was a tad more sporting as it tweeted: “We cannot thank you enough for the entertainment!”
