Rahul Gandhi 'winks' in Parliament again during Rafale debate, BJP slams

The Bharatiya Janata Party attacked him for the act.

"Rahul Gandhi ‘winks’ again... This time during the all serious debate on #Rafale. He surely needs help!," BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted as he shared the video on the micro-blogging site.

Parliament: A day of debate on Rafale deal:

Seeking to blunt the Congress attack on Rafale fighter jet deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said told the Lok Sabha that the previous UPA government took India’s security lightly despite growing challenges from China and Pakistan.

Replying to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s speech, Sitharaman said  Congress believed in doing “defence dealings” while the Narendra Modi government was “dealing in defence” to maintain India’s security.

“Our neighbourhood is very volatile. It is, therefore, important that we do anything to keep peace. Timely procurement of getting arms and ammunitions is a must. China added 4,800 aircraft. It’s the fourth generation aircraft being added by China. Pakistan increased its aircraft numbers by more than double in the last 10 years. In 2002, India had 42 squadrons, and came further down,” she said.

The Defence Minister's reply came after the Congress accused the Centre of lying before the Supreme Court by citing a "non-existent" CAG report on Rafale deal and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reply to the debate in Lok Sabha on the issue.

Kharge had accused Modi of giving offset contract to his "favourite man" and reiterated the demand for a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Rahul Gandhi and his winking act in the past:

Rahul Gandhi had made a unique gesture in the Parliament last year in July when he went ahead to hug Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a day when the Lok Sabha was debating on the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition. 

Rahul Gandhi's hug, wink keep Twitter buzzing

In the video of the gesture by Gandhi, which had gone viral on social media, Modi could be seen apparently left surprised by the Congress president with his sudden and unexpected move.

Apart from giving Modi a bear hug, Gandhi also caught attention across the nation by winking at one of his colleagues during the debate in the Parliament over the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition. 

Twitter buzzing over Rahul's fresh winking act:

One Geetika Swami tweeted: "And during a serious debate, Rahul Gandhi winks again. What’s wrong with him  #RafaleDebate #Rafale #RafaleDeal."

Another Nalini Dutt said: "I think #RahulGandhi is competing with Priya Prakash Warrier for the title of National Wink!!! #Aankhmaareladkaaankhmaare."

A netizen Riya said: "In a serious discussion like RAFALE while our defence minister @nsitharaman replying to his baseless accusations that time Rahul Gandhi winks. This is called seriousness Mr.Rahul Gandhi??."

The incident has created new tags on the Twitter-like 'Aankhmaareladkaaankhmaare' and 'AnkhMarePappuAnkhMare'.

A Bollywood connection:

The hashtags seem to be inspired from a popular Bollywood number from actor Ranveer Singh's latest Bollywood release 'Simmba'. The song is titled 'Aankh Mare O Ladki Aankh Mare'. The hit song from Simmba is itself a remix of a 90s popular track from another Bollywood movie 'Tere Mere Sapne'.

Image: Amit Malviya Twitter p age