Love only way to build a nation

A day after creating a flutter in the Lok Sabha by hugging Indian PM Narendra Modi and later winking, Congress President Rahul Gandhi yesterday said the only way to build a nation is by harnessing love and compassion of people.

Speaking at the debate on Friday's no-trust motion in Parliament, Rahul had talked about the prime minister using "hate, fear and anger" in the hearts of some people to build his narrative and the Congress party countering that through love and compassion.

Carrying on from there, Rahul yesterday tweeted that the "PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation (sic)."

Gandhi had given a nearly hour-long fiery speech during the no-confidence motion debate accusing Modi of giving false assurances and promises to people on a range of issues including demonetization, joblessness, the state of economy, lynching, women's safety and alleged atrocities on Dalits.

After concluding his speech, Rahul walked across the aisle to where the prime minister was sitting and hugged him.

After Rahul returned to his seat among the opposition benches, he winked at two of his party lawmakers. His hug and wink set off a storm in the social media and grabbed much of the media focus.