After accusations and allegations on Rahul Gandhi for blowing a flying kiss towards the treasury benches which were booing him while he was leaving the Lok Sabha after his speech during the no-confidence motion debate.

The Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal reacted sharply to Union minister Smriti Irani's allegations and said, "A supposed flying kiss thrown in the air ignited so much fire. A man named Brij Bhushan is sitting two rows back. The one who called Olympic wrestlers into the room and put his hand on their chest, put his hand on their waist and sexually assaulted them. Why don't you get angry at what he did?” Swati Maliwal wrote on X (formally Twitter) amid a massive political row over the Congress leader's action.

Maliwal was referring to sexual harassment charges levelled against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by six top wrestlers including Olympic medallists Bajranj Punia and Sakshi Malik. 

Although more than 20 BJP women MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded "stringent action" against Gandhi for his "inappropriate gesture" and behaved in an “indecent manner” which not only “insulted the dignity of women members in the House, but also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this august House”.

The Opposition came out in defence of Gandhi, the Congress said he never disrespected women and the BJP was indulging in an “indecent” act of accusing him of “misconduct” as it does not want a debate on Manipur violence.

Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused Irani of suffering from "Rahul-phobia" and asked her to come out of it.

Even during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the way Gandhi conducted himself and behaved with women was witnessed by everyone.

Party general secretary KC Venugopal said throughout the Bharat Jodo Yatra, “those who joined it and watched it, all are giving it as a symbol of humankind and love and affection”.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also sought to defend Gandhi, saying "I was at the visitors gallery and he  did it as a gesture of affection. They (BJP) can't accept love."

Source: HT