After hug row, BJP MP digs up Nehru's 'kiss' pics, gets fact-checked by Congress

The row over Rahul Gandhi’s hug with Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit and his jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy showed no signs of dying down, as BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday dragged Jawaharlal Nehru into the controversy by sharing old photographs of him.Dubey posted a series of Nehru's photographs on X, writing, “Some pictures from a book in my library about the Nehru-Gandhi family.” The images included Nehru with his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, his niece Nayantara Sahgal and former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. While Dubey did not describe the images as “kiss” photographs, the BJP MP’s post appeared to suggest that the pictures showed Nehru in intimate moments with women.However, the Congress hit back, pointing out that Nehru's pictures were being circulated and were being presented without their context.Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said one of the photographs showed Nehru getting a peck on his cheek from his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, while another featured his niece Nayantara Sahgal. She also identified a photograph from March 1962 showing Nehru applying colours to Jacqueline Kennedy during Holi. “The women in your house should also stay safe from you – savage beast,” Shrinate said in a sharp response to Dubey.Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also criticised the BJP MP's post, accusing him of selectively using photographs to target the Nehru-Gandhi family. “For decades, Jawaharlal Nehru and his family have been subjected to a campaign of selective photographs, insinuations and deliberate distortions to manufacture a political narrative,” Singhvi tweeted.“Nishikant Dubey’s latest attempt is yet another example of this politics of defamation. A family greeting is not a scandal, and an old photograph is not evidence of wrongdoing,” he said.The latest exchange came amid a wider political row over Rahul Gandhi’s public appearance with Sandeep Dikshit, where the Congress leader hugged him and later took a swipe at Modi’s foreign policy.On Friday, Dubey earlier shared photographs of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to counter Rahul Gandhi's hug jibe at PM Modi.Dubey also shared a viral image of Rahul Gandhi hugging PM Modi in Lok Sabha eight years ago, he wrote, "Rahul Gandhi ji calls this choking sensation gastric fire, or is it the fire of lust?"The BJP MP's attacks revived the familiar BJP-Congress social media battle over historical photographs, with the BJP using images of Congress leaders and their families to make political points and the Congress responding by providing context and accusing the BJP of distortion.RAHUL GANDHI MOCKS PM'S HUG WITH FOREIGN LEADERSThe BJP MP’s attack came hours after Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at PM Modi’s foreign policy at the Rachnatmak Congress national convention on Thursday evening.Rahul Gandhi said he did not understand where PM Modi had got the idea that foreign policy was about hugging world leaders. He then hugged Sandeep Dikshit to drive home his point.“Imagine the ignorance... where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders?” Rahul Gandhi said.Dikshit then jokingly asked Gandhi, “You didn’t mistake me for Meloni, did you?” Rahul Gandhi replied, “I haven’t reached that point yet.”- EndsPublished By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 15, 2026 13:06 IST