Earthquake hits Lok Sabha: Rahul Gandhi hugs PM Narendra Modi, then winks
During the debate in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, on the no-confidence motion on Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi surprised everyone by hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Live camera showed Rahul winking at a fellow Congress MP after hugging the PM, reports economictimes.indiatimes.com.
Rahul Gandhi winks after hugging PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha #NoConfidenceMotion pic.twitter.com/uStFDVKvLj
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
The Lok Sabha on Friday took up a no-confidence motion against the government for debate and voting, two days after the start of the monsoon session. Top guns of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are taking part in the debate, which will conclude with a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to speak during the day, reports timesnownews.com.
Seven hours have been set aside for the debate, which began shortly after 11:00am (India time) and will continue without any lunch break.
The Modi government is expected to have a smooth sailing. In the 545-member (including the Speaker) Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA can bank on around 311 members, including the 273 of the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD's) 4, Shiv Sena's 18, Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP's) 6, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party's (RLSP's) 3, Janata Dal (United)'s (JD-U's) 2, Apna Dal's 2, All India N R Congress' 1, Sikkim Democratic Front's (SDF's) 1, and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's (NDPP's) 1.