NEW* DELHI: Giving his reaction to the Rahul Gandhi’s unexpected gesture of‘admiration’ ,Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after took a dig atthe “unwanted hug” he received from Congress president Rahul Gandhi inParliament, saying it was a result of the opposition’s lack of reason fortheir no-confidence motion against his government.*
“We asked the reasons for their no confidence motion but when they failedto give it they ended up giving an unwanted hug,” Modi said, referring toGandhi’s embrace during a debate on the no-confidence motion.
Addressing a rally, he said the coming together of several parties againstthe BJP will be an opportunity as they were running after the primeminister’s chair, ignoring the poor, youth and farmers. He used a Hindiexpression that translates to more the parties, more the marshy land inwhich the ‘lotus’ blooms.
Accusing previous governments of not having the will to help farmers, Modilisted the key decisions taken by his government for welfare of farmers andcriticised the parties who ruled in the past for lacking pro-farmerintentions.
He also said that for the first time the government has decided to allowmills to produce ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice from December 1.
Yesterday (July 20), Rahul Gandhi approached Prime Minister Narendra Modiduring the parliament session and hugged him affectionately.
“You may call me Pappu, but I don’t hate you,” Rahul Gandhi said, lookingdirectly at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then walking across to embracehim. It may not have been an “earthquake” but the Congress president’sjaw-dropping gesture during session touched many hearts in and outside theassembly.