During the unfunny comic act, Mani mimicked and mocked PM Modi and his late mother as Rahul Gandhi smiled and played along. A video from Gandhi’s latest Chhatron Ki Goonj event went viral on social media, attracting widespread criticism.
The video shows Mani mocking PM Modi’s gesture of warmly greeting people with a handshake and a hug. He then goes on to display a distasteful mimicry of PM Modi’s way of speaking and also dragged the woman into the cheap act.
Gandhi was visibly cheerful throughout the entire act and even joined the comic, carrying a wide smile.
While political barbs are common in the political sphere, Gandhi, in his frenzy to attack PM Modi, often crosses the line of decency and civility. Be it his press interactions or public events, facts or logical arguments never make their way into Gandhi’s addresses, which are full of propaganda, lies, personal attacks, and below-the-belt remarks targeting PM Modi. Using misogynistic remarks about an elderly woman or PM Modi’s female counterparts or colleagues is a new addition to the book of cheap tactics.
Rahul Gandhi’s repeated display of misogyny
The visuals at the Chhatron Ki Goonj event in Indore were disgusting but familiar. This is not the first time that misogyny has taken the centre stage at an event of the Congress Party. Similar visuals emerged during the Rachnatmak Congress National Convention held in New Delhi on August 13, 2026.
At the event, Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leader Sanjay Dixit together took the country’s political discourse to a new low by dragging a female foreign head of state into their personal attacks directed at PM Modi. While criticising PM Modi and his foreign policy in his usual overtly performative manner, Gandhi normalised sexism and misogyny.
He hugged veteran politician Sanjay Dixit to mock PM Modi’s way of greeting his foreign counterparts, which was followed by a highly misogynistic remark by Dixit against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In a tacky political gimmick, Gandhi hugged Dixit to take a dig at PM Modi, and the latter went along with a sly remark, “Did you hug me thinking I am Meloni?” Both Gandhi and Dixit laughed off the sickening display of misogyny, and Gandhi carried on with his rant against PM Modi.
In the desperation to settle political scores with PM Modi, Gandhi did not even care how such misogynistic remarks coming from the Leader of the Opposition could have harmed the country’s image globally. This was not a one-off incident, where comments undermining women’s dignity were made by Congress leaders. What transpired at the Congress events in New Delhi and Indore is a symptom of the deep-rooted culture of misogyny and sexism thriving within the Congress Party. Rahul Gandhi’s acceptance and encouragement of misogynistic comments at the Congress events is proof of how misogyny and disrespect towards women are normalised within his organisation.
This behaviour does not help Rahul Gandhi; rather, it reinforces and strengthens his image of a non-serious and part-time politician, which is possibly the reason behind his party’s repeated electoral failures. His public events have more entertainment value than substance. Failing to counter PM Modi on the political front with facts and sound arguments, Gandhi has now come down to putting on such farcical shows where he acts like a disgruntled child rather than a serious politician seeking people’s trust.
Congress politicians and their contempt for women
The public display of misogyny is not limited to the male politicians of the party; its female politicians are equal contributors to it. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress national spokesperson and former journalist, Supriya Shrinate, made sexist slurs at BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut in an Instagram post that was later deleted.
Shrinate posted a picture of Ranaut in which she was scantily dressed and captioned it, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rate system in Mandi is?” The post unleashed a barrage of sexual innuendos and abusive comments at the actor-politician, who was declared the BJP’s candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. After facing massive backlash for the reprehensible post, Shrinate issued a clarification claiming that someone who had access to her Instagram account made the post, adding that the person responsible for making the post will be held accountable.
Congress’s culture of misogyny was also exposed when former Congress member Priyanka Chaturvedi left the party after party workers who misbehaved with her were reinstated in the organisation. Chaturvedi, who was also the party’s foremost spokesperson, publicly expressed dissatisfaction over the reinstatement of the Congress workers and subsequently resigned from the primary membership of the party.
The failure of Congress’ top leadership, who chant slogans like ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon’ and call for ‘smashing patriarchy’, to at least condemn such incidents, speaks volumes about the party’s anti-women mindset. Clearly, as a classic case of birds of a feather flocking together, the party is made up of people with misogynistic mindsets.
The above-mentioned incidents demonstrate how Rahul Gandhi and his party have normalised insults and derogatory remarks targeting women. The Congress Party has been trying to project itself as the champion of women’s rights; however, its manufactured image and carefully crafted narrative lay exposed when the masks put on by its leaders fall off in events like the Chhatron Ki Goonj event in Indore.
