Shobha Karandlaje, a BJP MP and union minister, along with other party women members, filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla over what they claim to be “indecent” behaviour and “inappropriate” gestures towards union minister Smriti Irani.
At the Speaker’s chamber, Shobha Karandlaje delivered the letter, signed by 21 BJP members, calling for harsh punishment against Rahul Gandhi.
Shobha Karandlaje
Image Source: The Economic Times
“We demand stringent action against such behaviour by the member, which has not only insulted the dignity of the women members in the House but also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this House,” the letter read.
In his first statement in Parliament since being re-elected as an MP, Rahul Gandhi sent the BJP lawmaker a flying kiss. The incident, which was not caught on camera, occurred when the Congress leader left the Lok Sabha building while Smriti Irani’s address was still going on.
“We have never seen such a thing in Parliament. He either winks in the House or indulges in indecent behaviour. We strongly condemn this. We submitted a letter to the Speaker, asking him to find the footage (of the flying kiss) and take action. All limits have been crossed today,” Karandlaje told India Today over the phone.
Image Source: DNA India
Witnesses said that as Rahul Gandhi was leaving the Lok Sabha building after delivering his statement in support of the no-trust vote, he dropped a few papers, and as he bent over to pick them up, a few BJP MPs began laughing at him.
They claimed Rahul Gandhi gave the BJP members a flying kiss before leaving.
Smriti Irani, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, attacked Rahul Gandhi for the flying kiss, calling him a “misogynistic man” and disgusting behaviour.
The Letter By The BJP MP
Image Source: India Today
“Only a misogynistic man can give a flying kiss to women MPs in Parliament. Such an instance was never witnessed before. This shows what he thinks of women. This is obscene,” she said.
However, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi countered the charges and said, “I was at the visitors gallery, and he (Rahul Gandhi) did it as a gesture of affection.”
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When asked to comment on the outrage expressed by BJP women members, Chaturvedi said, “They (BJP members) said it was only a gesture to them? What are these allegations? What are they angry about? It was a genuine gesture that he (Rahul Gandhi) made. Like the slogan, ‘Mohabbat ki dukan’. They are so used to hate that they cannot accept love.”
Rahul Gandhi took part in the no-confidence debate in the Lok Sabha earlier today. He criticised the government for the unrest in Manipur, claiming that its politics had “murdered India” in the troubled state.
