Union minister Shobha Karandlaje and other women BJP MPs on Thursday lodged a formal complaint with Speaker Om Birla against Rahul Gandhi blowing a flying kiss inside Lok Sabha and accused him of insulting women MPs. Rahul Gandhi, who was given the first chance to speak, left soon after his speech for Rajasthan. However, just before leaving, Irani alleged that the Congress leader blew a flying kiss to her.
Here is the full text of the complaint:
I would like to draw your attention towards the incident in the House by Mr. Rahul Gandhi, MP from Wayanad, Kerala. The said member has behaved in an indecent manner and making inappropriate gesture towards Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister and Member of this House while she was addressing the House. We demand stringent action against such behavior by the Member, which has not only insulted the dignity women members in the House, it has also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this august House.
The letter was signed by Shobha Karandlaje (Udupi Chikmagalur, Karnataka), Rekha Verma (Dhaurahra, Uttar Pradesh), Sanghmitra Maurya (Badaun, Uttar Pradesh), Raksha Khadse (Raver, Maharashtra), Debasree Chaudhuri (Raiganj, West Bengal), Aparajita Sarangi (Bhubaneswar, Odisha), Pratima Bhoumik (Tripura West, Tripura), Bharti Dhirubhai Shiyal (Bhavnagar, Gujarat), Ranjeeta Koli (Bharatpur, Rajasthan), Sunita Duggal (Sirsa, Haryana), Heena Gavit (Nandurbar, Maharashtra), Keshari Devi Patel (Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh), Ranjanben Bhatt (Vadodara, Gujarat), Darshana Jardosh (Surat, Gujarat).
Union Minister & BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje after lodging complaint said, "This is the first time we have seen such behaviour from an MP in the House. He made a gesture of a flying kiss at women MPs in the House....It is unacceptable. We have complained to the Speaker to take action against him."
Bringing the act to the notice of the chair, Smriti Irani said, "I object to something. The one who was given the chance to speak before me displayed indecency before leaving. It is only a misogynistic man who can give a flying kiss to a Parliament which seats female members of Parliament. Such undignified conduct was never before seen in the Parliament of the country..."
Calling Rahul Gandhi ‘misogynistic’, Smriti Irani said, "I have a qualm. He misbehaved. Only a misogynistic man can give a flying kiss to female parliamentarians. Representative of the family he comes from…He broadcasted what he and his party feel about women…Such an instance was never witnessed before. This shows what he thinks of women. This is obscene."
