Union minister Smriti Irani, in her latest attack on Rahul Gandhi for allegedly blowing a “flying kiss” in the Lok Sabha, the Congress did not have the decency to conduct himself in Parliament.
Speaking at an event of Aaj Tak news channel, the Union minister for women and child development, without mentioning Rahul Gandhi’s name, said the Gandhi scion’s alleged “flying kiss” during the recently concluded Monsoon session of Parliament was “despicable behaviour” and the incident was shame on him and not on her or any other women Parliamentarians.
“A person from the Gandhi dynasty may not have an interest in Parliament, but can you imagine that a female Cabinet minister who happens to be there now has to gleefully talk about why did the man do what he did? Why should I? It was shame on him…not me, or any other woman who was there that day severing our country in Parliament,” India Today quoted Irani as saying at the event.
Also Read: ‘Used Amethi like chewing gum’: BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Cong over Rahul’s 2024 candidature
When asked about the political rivalry with Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader – who won Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi constituency against the then Congress president in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – said rivalry happens between equals. “He is the owner of his party. I am a worker of my party (BJP),” she said.
Rahul Gandhi flying kiss row
After participating in the debate on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, Gandhi allegedly blew a flying kiss, drawing sharp reactions from the treasury benches with Irani calling him a misogynist and saying the House had never witnessed such an “indecent act”.
The Congress defended its leader saying he never disrespects women and the BJP was indulging in an “indecent” act of accusing him of “misconduct” as it did not want a debate on Manipur violence.
Later, BJP women MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded “stringent action” against Gandhi for his “inappropriate gesture”.
In a complaint, signed by more than 20 women parliamentarians, it was alleged that Gandhi behaved in an “indecent manner” which not only “insulted the dignity of women members in the House, but also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this august House”.