PM Narendra Modi slams Rahul Gandhi's Unwanted Hug at farmers rally in UP's Shahjahanpur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a dig at the "unwanted hug" he received from Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Parliament, and said the coming together of many parties against the BJP will only help the 'lotus' bloom.

Modi's reference was to the opposition-backed no-confidence motion which was initiated by the TDP in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

"We asked the reasons for their no-confidence but when they failed to give it they ended up giving an unwanted hug," Modi said, referring to Gandhi's embrace.

On Friday, giving the cameras a moment which people will remember for years, Rahul Gandhi after concluding his speech, left the opposition benches to walk across the aisle. There, he walked up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hugged him.

The PM, confused at first, accepted Gandhi’s gesture and shook hands with



him.

In his speech during the debate, Home Minister Rajnath Singh mocked Gandhi's hug and said he had started 'chipko andolan' in the Lok Sabha.

Addressing a Kisan Kalyan Rally at Roza in Shahjahanpur on Saturday, Modi said, "There is not just one 'dal' (political party) but dal over dal resulting in "dal-dal" (marshy land), which will only help the 'lotus" bloom."

Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP.

The NDA government sailed through the no-confidence motion against it in the Lok Sabha after a nearly 12-hour debate that became a Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi show.

The government got the support of 325 members, while 126 backed the motion with 451 MPs present in the House. The final tally of the NDA was higher than the 314 figure projected by the party’s floor managers as it got the support of AIADMK, which had been sitting on the fence.