Congress MP Rahul Gandhi gave a fiery speech in Lok Sabha as the House took up debate on the no-confidence motion for the second day on Wednesday, but what grabbed all the attention was his ‘flying kiss’ gesture.

Videos shared by BJP handles showed Gandhi blowing a flying kiss towards the Treasury benches just as Union Minister Smriti Irani was beginning her speech in the House during the debate. The gesture came amid a din in the House amid slogans of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘INDIA, INDIA’ by the Opposition and Treasury benches.

Rahul’s gesture landed him in soup with Irani lashing out over the flying kiss. She said, “Only a misogynistic man can give a flying kiss to women MPs in Parliament. Such an instance was never witnessed before. This shows what he thinks of women. This is obscene.”

Also Read: ‘Only a misogynistic man…’: Smriti Irani hits out at Rahul Gandhi over flying kiss in Parliament | Video

Taking strong objection to the gesture, Union Agriculture Minister Shobha Karandlaje also hit out at the Congress MP over the flying kiss and filed a complaint with the Lok Sabha speaker, calling Rahul Gandhi’s behaviour “inappropriate”. Several women MPs signed the complaint letter.

BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said he was pained by what he saw. “What kind of behaviour is Rahul Gandhi displaying? Has he any decency or not?” he asked.

BJP MPs have demanded the “strictest action” urging Birla to cull out video footage of Rahul Gandhi and examine his act.

While the Congress explained Rahul Gandhi’s gesture saying he was responding in his “Mohabbat ki dukaan” mode to ruling side jibes, the act left BJP MPs fuming.

Also Read: Brij Bhushan seated in Parliament as Rahul Gandhi’s ‘flying kiss’ caused fire: DCW chief

‘Not the first time’

“This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has behaved inappropriately inside Lok Sabha,” Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said.

They recalled Rahul’s act of walking across the aisle to hug Prime Minister Narendra Modi after finishing his speech in the July 2018 no-confidence motion against the Council of Ministers.

After hugging the PM, Rahul returned to his seat and winked in a gesture of victory.

The hug was the closing to a vehement hour-long attack on PM Modi, accusing him of favouring businessmen with defence deals and loan waivers rather than farmers.