&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘This is about basic decency’: BJP sharpens attack on Rahul Gandhi, Sandeep Dikshit over ‘Meloni’ hug remark")
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell chief Amit Malviya on Friday (Aug 14) launched a fresh attack on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party leader Sandeep Dikshit over their remarks during a recent Congress event, calling them “far more disturbing” than a mere “locker-room conversation”. The BJP leader’s remarks came after Gandhi and Dikshit aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy during the Rachnatmak Congress national convention.
During the event, Gandhi hugged Dikshit while criticising Modi’s gestures towards international dignitaries. Dikshit then quipped, “Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha? (You weren’t hugging me thinking I was Meloni?)”, referring to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
What Amit Malviya said
Reacting to the exchange, Malviya said in a post on X that the remarks by Gandhi and Dikshit “reveal something far more disturbing than a mere ‘locker-room conversation’”. He alleged that the exchange reflected an attitude in which women in public life are “reduced to objects of gratification”, rather than being viewed as professionals, leaders and individuals deserving dignity.
Also read: India’s 80th Independence Day: From 1947 to 2026 - How the country's map changed over 80 years
“Let us not sanitise this perversion with euphemisms,” Malviya wrote, adding that the issue was not about being politically incorrect but about “basic decency”.
The BJP leader’s remarks add to the ongoing political criticism surrounding Gandhi’s comments on Modi’s foreign policy and the Congress leaders’ exchange at the convention.
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