Nishikant Dubey digs out Indira-Castro pics to counter Rahul Gandhi's PM 'hug' jab

To counter Rahul Gandhi's PM 'hug' jab, BJP's Nishikant Dubey shared photographs of Indira Gandhi with Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.BJP leaders have criticised Rahul Gandhi over his swipe at PM Modi hugging foreign leaders.BJP MP Nishikant Dubey hit back at Rahul Gandhi over his jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s practice of hugging foreign leaders, invoking the Congress leader's own family history of diplomatic embraces.In a post on X, Dubey shared photographs of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, as well as the viral image of Rahul Gandhi hugging PM Modi in Lok Sabha eight years ago, with the caption, "Rahul Gandhi ji calls this choking sensation gastric fire, or is it the fire of lust?” A video of the late Prime Minister's meeting with Castro is also doing the rounds on social media.The BJP MP's attack came hours after Rahul Gandhi on Thursday evening mocked PM Modi's approach to foreign policy at the Rachnatmak Congress national convention. Speaking at the event, the Congress MP said he did not understand where PM Modi had got the idea that foreign policy was about hugging world leaders.He then hugged Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit to illustrate his point.“Imagine the ignorance... where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders,” Rahul Gandhi said.Dikshit then asked Rahul Gandhi, “Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha?” to which the MP responded, “I have not reached there yet.”#WATCH | Delhi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "I don't know where it came from; this idea got into their heads. I don't know who put it there or where it came from, the idea that foreign policy means hugging politicians. I was young. We went to America. Since pic.twitter.com/5G3j1osvvT— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2026The exchange triggered a backlash from BJP leaders, who accused Rahul Gandhi of crossing the line and making an inappropriate reference to Meloni while attacking the Prime Minister.Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "Rahul Gandhi, when will you grow up?”"By insulting the Prime Minister, you mock millions of voters who chose Modi ji for three historic terms. You are attacking the electorate’s intelligence simply because they rejected your dynastic politics," he tweeted.Joshi also hit out at the Congress leader for calling citizens “cowards” for rejecting his political narrative and said the Congress leader should “stop the arrogance and respect the public mandate”.BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said Rahul Gandhi's remarks were contrary to the dignity expected from the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.“The kind of uncultured, obscene, and indecent language used today by Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is completely contrary to the dignity of a constitutional position like that of the Leader of the Opposition,” Swaraj said in a post on X.She accused Gandhi of resorting to “cheap rhetoric for social media memes and reels” instead of playing the role of a constructive opposition leader.BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan also criticised the Congress leader, saying political parties have the right to criticise their opponents but should not “insult women and reduce public life to vulgar jokes”.“Mocking PM Narendra Modi ji and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, while Congress leaders laugh along, reflects a serious lack of political maturity,” she said.- EndsPublished By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Aug 14, 2026 10:58 IST