Rahul Gandhi at his Iftar party
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday evening hosted an Iftar party which generated a controversy over the Congress president terming PM Modi's fitness video as “bizarre” and "ridiculous" .
A video from Rahul Gandhi’s Iftar party has gone viral in which the Congress president is seen commenting on PM Modi’s fitness video that the prime minister had released this morning.
In the video, one of Rahul Gandhi’s guests asks him if he had seen PM Modi’s fitness video. Another guest claimed that the leadership was taking the country in backward direction.
After this, Rahul Gandhi is heard terming PM Modi’s video as “bizarre” and "ridiculous".
"Did you see the PM's fitness video? It is ridiculous... I mean... It is bizarre... This is bankruptcy," he said as he poked fun at the video put out by the prime minister.
Dinesh Trivedi (TMC) and Sitaram Yechury [CPI(M)], who were sitting nearby, started laughing after Rahul Gandhi’s remarks.
However, another guest appreciated the idea of PM Modi’s fitness video though Rahul Gandhi asked him to explain what was so special about the video.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the Congress president is ignorant about “indigenous fitness” as he prefers “foreign fitness”.
However, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera defended Rahul Gandhi and alleged that the prime minister was doing drama over fitness video.
Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh, prominent opposition leaders attend Rahul Gandhi’s Iftar party
Rahul Gandhi’s Iftar party was attended by a host of leaders from Congress and opposition parties including former President Pranab Mukherjee and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Former President Pratibha Patil and former Vice President Hamid Ansari were among the dignitaries who attended the function at a hotel where leaders from opposition parties, including rebel Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Janata Dal-Secular leader Danish Ali, Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Mishra were also present.
Nationalist Congress Party leader DP Tripathi, DMK’s Kanimozhi, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Hemant Soren were the other opposition leaders who were present along with Congress leaders P Chidambaram and AK Antony.
After the Iftar party, Congress chief took to twitter saying: " we were honoured to have two former Presidents, Pranab Da & Smt Pratibha Patil ji join us, along with leaders from different political parties, the media, diplomats and many old & new friends."
Mukherjee, whose acceptance of the RSS invite became a matter of big controversy, greeted those present at the function as he moved among the guests. Rahul Gandhi welcomed him and other guests.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slammed Iftar party hosted by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, calling it an 'act of engineering'.
Watch Video: Rahul Gandhi mocks PM Modi at his Iftar party
On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted his fitness video on Twitter which showed him meditating, walking on a track inspired by five elements of nature, and doing yoga exercises.
PM Modi also passed on the fitness challenge to Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, table tennis player Manika Batra and IPS officers, especially those above 40 years of age.
However, Responding to the fitness challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he was more concerned about "developing fitness" of the state and sought his support for it.
"Dear @narendramodi ji I am honoured & thank U very much for d concern about my health I believe physical fitness is imptnt for all & supportd cause," Kumaraswamy said in a tweet.
"Yoga-treadmill r part of my daily workout regime. Yet, I am more concerned about devlpment fitness of my state & seek ur support for it," he added.
