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Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi courted controversy on Wednesday after he allegedly blew a “flying kiss” in parliament.
The Congress leader allegedly made the gesture during the debate on the ongoing no-confidence motion against the BJP government, according to reports in the Indian media.
On Wednesday, right after Gandhi concluded his speech on the motion in parliament, Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged that he blew a “flying kiss” before leaving the lower house.
Without naming Gandhi, Irani said: “The one who was given the chance to speak before me displayed indecency before leaving. It is only a misogynistic man who can give a flying kiss to a parliament which seats female members. Such undignified conduct has never before seen in the parliament of the country.”
Speaking to media outside the parliament, Irani denounced the alleged gesture and asked if the lawmaker should be “brought to task”.
“Never before has the misogynistic behaviour of a man been so visible in parliament as what was done by Rahul Gandhi today. 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?” Irani said, according to ANI.
Irani’s allegations caused an uproar, prompting a group of female members of the parliament (MP) to file a complaint against Gandhi with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
One of the complainants, Union Minister and BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje, said: “This is the first time we have seen such behaviour from an MP in the House. He made a gesture of a flying kiss at women MPs in the House...It is unacceptable. We have complained to the speaker to take action against him," she said.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi stated that Gandhi made an “affectionate gesture”.
“I don't understand that when he was speaking, all the ministers were standing up. Ministers were creating obstructions. He made an affectionate gesture, what problem do you have with it? You are habitual of so much hatred that you fail to understand any gesture of love, of affection,” Chaturvedi reportedly said. Chaturvedi’s party is an ally of the Congress in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Congress Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram said the controversy over the “flying kiss” was a way to divert from the issues raised by the opposition in parliament, reported ANI.
“Rahul Gandhi asked some very pointed questions to the government about complete inaction and mishandling of Manipur. The government is not addressing those questions. This is the classic tactic (strategy) of the BJP. Every time we raise pointed issues, they always try to divert it by going back to events that happened in history or talking about things that have no connection,” Chidambaram said.
Responding to the criticism, Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused Irani of suffering from "Rahul-phobia" and asked her to come out of it. "Smriti Irani is consumed by 'Rahul phobia' and she should try to come out of it," Tagore said.
Gandhi on Wednesday gave his first speech in parliament after he was disqualified as a member in March this year. His membership was revoked on March 23 after he was convicted by a court in Surat in the western Indian state of Gujarat in a criminal defamation case.
The defamation case pertains to the comments he made in 2019 that were deemed to be disrespectful towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other people having the surname Modi.
However, the Supreme Court of India on August 4 suspended the conviction of Rahul Gandhi and paved the way for his return to parliament. On Monday, the Lok Sabha secretariat restored Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership.
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