Rahul Gandhi says BJP MPs take two steps back when they see him because they're afraid he'll hug them

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP over his hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and said now the party’s MPs take “two steps back” on seeing him fearing he may embrace them too. [caption id=“attachment_4785641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Congress president Rahul Gandhi during a debate on ’no-confidence motion’ in Lok Sabha. PTI[/caption] Rahul, who was severely criticised by the BJP leaders for hugging Modi during his speech on the no-confidence motion against the government last week, said he may have a difference of opinion with the ruling party leaders and he can fight them, but he doesn’t need to hate them. “You can fight someone with all your might, but hate is a choice… And I think that is something that is very important to understand. I may disagree with LK Advani, I may have a completely different conception of the country from that of Advani. And I can fight Advani on every single inch, but I don’t need to hate him,” Rahul said at a book launch where the senior BJP leader and former deputy prime minister was also present. The Congress chief further said that he can hug Advani and also fight him. “It is very interesting how this works, because now whenever I come across BJP MPs, they take two steps back… we have to be careful he is going to hug us,” Rahul said amid peals of laughter. After a no-holds barred and scathing criticism of Modi on several issues including the Rafale jet deal, Rahul had walked across the Well of Lok Sabha to Modi and hugged him. The gesture had taken Modi as well as the treasury benches by surprise.