It was indeed an unprecedented day in the history of Parliament sessions. Although votes against the NDA government in a no-confidence motion was set to be the highlight of the Parliament session today, something else that took the cake - Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s unanticipated ‘jaadu ki jappi’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
#WATCH Rahul Gandhi walked up to PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha and gave him a hug, earlier today #NoConfidenceMotion pic.twitter.com/fTgyjE2LTt
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
The video showing Rahul Gandhi walking up to the Treasury benches and surprising Narendra Modi with a hug took the Internet world by storm.
In the video put out by ANI, PM Modi was at first taken aback but then called Rahul back to shake his hand.
#WATCH Rahul Gandhi winked after hugging PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha earlier today #NoConfidenceMotion pic.twitter.com/206d6avU07
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
And then, Rahul winking as he returned to his seat predictably sent the Internet into a meltdown.
Books - "Politics is not a game, it's a way of life. Every move you make in every minute of your existence is planned ahead. It's all about taming power and money. You have to lose to win, kill to survive, and bribe to earn. It's fire and ice, it's life and death."
— Sad Background Music (@iamdatemike) July 20, 2018
Real life - pic.twitter.com/bjTvC6ebG9
Same. pic.twitter.com/u9eakRppXX
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) July 20, 2018
*record scratch* You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation . . . pic.twitter.com/tnFMf8P5Vg
— Overrated Outcast (@over_rated) July 20, 2018
raja beta meets maa ke haath ka khaana after six months in hostel pic.twitter.com/wGT7bSvTI5
— so much hua hai (@schmaltzdisney) July 20, 2018
Who did this? pic.twitter.com/ypF3bfXLk1
— Mask (@Mr_Lolwwa) July 20, 2018
Before his hug, Congress President Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress chief, who spoke for around 45 minutes, targeted the Centre over various issues such as demonetisation, the safety of women and Dalits in the country. He also said that the Congress wanted one GST rate and that petroleum products should be covered in it.
Throwing repeated barbs at Modi, who at times returned a smile, the Congress leader said that Modi and BJP President Amit Shah act out of fear and cannot afford to lose power “because the moment they lose power, other processes will start against them.” He asserted that opposition parties will defeat BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul added that he respected the BJP and its ideological patron for teaching him the meaning of Congress and being a Hindu.
“Aap logon ke andar mere liye nafrat hai, aap mujhe Pappu aur bohot gaaliyan dekar bula sakte hain, lekin mere andar aapke liye nafrat nahi hai (You hate me, you call me ‘Pappu’ and abuse but I do not feel any hatred towards you),” Rahul said, before he walked up to PM Modi to embrace him.