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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi surprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday when he interrupted a no-confidence debate by the parliament to give his rival a hug.
A woman watches a news television debate about opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a no-confidence motion in parliament, at an electronics store in Kolkata, India, July 20, 2018. REUTERS / Rupak De Chowdhuri [19659003] Modified by the author of a vote in his first meeting of the Baja Janata Party (BJP) with Gandhi's Indian National Congress, in a warm-up for elections by May.
The Hindu nationalist BJP calls Gandhi, the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family, a "failed dynast" out of touch with ordinary people whose only political credential is the accident of his birth.
After a speech accusing Modi of promoting crony capitalism, Gandhi readdressed such criticism:
"You have anger against me, you can call me names, you can abuse me, but I do not have a speck of hatred against you. I will take it out of your hands and turn it into love, "he said before striding across the floor to his arms.
Startled by Gandhi 's gesture, Modi froze in her seat but later called Gandhi back to his seat and shook hands, smiling.
Modi, whose BJP is setting up next year's vote as a presidential-style contest between the prime minister and an untested US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After a poor start in politics, it was sought to exploit India's youth and a general decline in law and order.
Congress Party leader Shashi Tharoor praised Gandhi's "astonishing performance" in parliament.
"It was a game-changing speech, tearing apart the Govt's claims & ending with that unscripted hug that has literally taken the BJP's breath away," he tweeted.
During the debate, modi
"We started a war against black money and this war is not going to stop," he told parliament.
Authorities have ordered nearly 250,000 shell companies to be shut down and another 200,000-250,000 are on their radar, Modi said, blaming the previous Congress government of shielding corrupt people.
Earlier, Gandhi accused the government of withholding information on a deal with France to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets in 2016.
Aditional reporting by Anuja Jaiman, Sudarshan Varadhan, Krishna Das; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Robin Pomeroy
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