Hindustan Times (Delhi)

At UP rally, Modi mocks ‘unwanted hug’

- Manish Chandra Pandey manish.pandey@htlive.com CONTINUED ON P 6 RAHUL HURT IMAGE OF INDIAN LEADERS, SAYS JAITLEY P13

We asked the reason for their noconfiden­ce motion, but when they failed to give it, they ended up giving an unwanted hug

SHAHJAHANP­UR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a swipe at the “unwanted hug” he received from Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Parliament on Friday, tying the gesture to the absence of reason for the no-confidence motion brought against his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

“We asked the reason for their no-confidence motion, but when they failed to give it, they ended up giving an unwanted hug,” Modi said at a farmers’ rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanp­ur, referring to the embrace he received during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led NDA won the vote, initiated by estranged BJP ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and backed by most opposition parties, with a nearly three-fourths majority after an intense debate. Gandhi led the opposition’s charge in the debate with a blistering attack on the Modi government, and after ending his speech, walked up to Modi and hugged him.

Modi used the Hindi phrase ‘gale pad gaye’ to describe Gandhi’s gesture. The phrase loosely translates into English as thrusting an unwanted liability on someone.

Before Modi, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Khanna and UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey too used the same ‘gale pad gaye’ phrase to mock the Congress chief. Adityanath described Gandhi as ‘pappu’ (young boy).

Point of yesterday’s debate in Parliament… PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove Love & Compassion in hearts of Indians is only way to build a nation RAHUL GANDHI, Congress president

 ?? PTI PHOTO ?? Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath during the Kisan Kalyan rally in Shahjahanp­ur on Saturday.
PTI PHOTO Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath during the Kisan Kalyan rally in Shahjahanp­ur on Saturday.
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