Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit is facing a wave of criticism on social media after his quip about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during Rahul Gandhi’s attack on Narendra Modi’s foreign policy was widely described as “crass”, “sexist” and unnecessary.
The remark came at the Rachnatmak Congress Organising National Convention in New Delhi on Thursday, where Gandhi was mocking what he portrayed as PM Modi’s fondness for hugging foreign leaders
.How the remark unfolded
Gandhi first stretched out his arms and walked towards Dikshit for a hug, telling the gathering that he would demonstrate what foreign policy meant for Narendra Modi.
After the embrace, Dikshit joined the joke, asking Gandhi whether he had hugged him thinking he was Meloni.
Gandhi replied: “I haven’t
reached that stage yet.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, “I don’t know where it came from; this idea got into their heads. I don’t know who put it there or where it came from, the idea that foreign policy means hugging politicians. I was young. We went to America. Since… pic.twitter.com/5G3j1osvvT
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2026
The exchange drew laughter from the audience but quickly acquired a different tone online, where users questioned why Meloni had been singled out for the punchline.
The backlash focused less on Gandhi’s political criticism of Modi and more on Dikshit’s decision to bring a female foreign head of government into a joke centred on physical intimacy.
Why Meloni became the flashpoint
The reference was to the much-discussed public rapport between PM Modi and Meloni, which has generated the “Melodi” tag on social media.
Supporters of the Congress argument said the joke was clearly aimed at Narendra Modi’s public style of diplomacy and was not intended as a comment about Meloni herself.
Critics, however, argued that using Meloni as shorthand for a woman whom a male politician might want to hug reduced a sitting foreign leader to the object of a personal or romantic gag.
Some social media users called the line misogynistic and sexist, while others described it simply as tasteless political humour.
Political joke, bigger debate
The controversy also highlights the increasingly blurred line between political satire and personal commentary in India’s highly charged social-media environment.
Dikshit, the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, is a former East Delhi MP who served two terms in the Lok Sabha. His remark lasted only a few seconds, but the clip quickly travelled beyond the original context of Gandhi’s speech.
For Congress supporters, the exchange was harmless banter aimed at PM Modi’s much-publicised diplomatic imagery. For critics, it was an avoidable lapse in judgment that weakened the political point Gandhi was trying to make.
