India
oi-Swastika Sruti
The political row on Rahul Gandhi’s hug on BJP’s foreign policy took a heated turn on Saturday when BJP Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey uploaded old photos of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on social media.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared old photos of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi on social media during a political row, drawing parallels after Rahul Gandhi criticized PM Modi’s foreign policy and hugged Congress worker Sandeep Dikshit. Congress accused Dubey of using the images out of context.
Dubey uploaded a few photos related to the Nehru-Gandhi family, as if trying to establish a political parallel in the ongoing row over the recent public embrace between Rahul Gandhi and Congress worker Sandeep Dikshit.
Congress, however, alleged that the BJP MP was uploading the pictures out of context with a political agenda.
Nishikant Dubey Shares Old Nehru Photographs
नेहरु-गांधी परिवार के उपर मेरी लाइब्रेरी के किताब से कुछ तस्वीरें pic.twitter.com/YByjRdUBC4
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) August 14, 2026
Dubey shared a series of photographs on X with the caption:
“Some pictures from a book in my library about the Nehru-Gandhi family.”
The photographs included Nehru with his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, his niece Nayantara Sahgal and former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Although Dubey did not explicitly describe the photographs as showing intimate moments, his post appeared to invite comparisons with Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks about Modi’s interactions with foreign leaders.
The BJP MP’s post quickly became part of the ongoing political exchange between the BJP and Congress.
चीन ने 10 जनपथ पर कब्जा कर लिया है ,2008 के कॉंग्रेस – चीन समझौते के तहत चीनी सेना के लोग वहीं बैठते हैं । यह बेहद ही ख़तरनाक है,भारत सरकार को तुरंत संज्ञान लेना चाहिए https://t.co/ZmuC9C5sHd
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) August 14, 2026
Congress Hits Back At Dubey
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate criticised Dubey for sharing the photographs without explaining their context.
Shrinate said one of the images showed Nehru receiving a peck on the cheek from his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, while another featured his niece Nayantara Sahgal.
She also identified a photograph from March 1962 showing Nehru applying colours to Jacqueline Kennedy during Holi.
Shrinate strongly criticised Dubey’s post and accused him of crossing political limits in targeting the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Singhvi Accuses BJP Of ‘Selective’ Use Of Photos
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also responded to Dubey.
He alleged that photographs of Jawaharlal Nehru and his family had been selectively circulated for years to create political narratives.
Singhvi said that a family greeting should not be portrayed as a scandal and argued that an old photograph, without context, could not be treated as evidence of wrongdoing.
The Congress leader accused Dubey of using the photographs as part of what he described as a broader campaign against the Nehru-Gandhi family.
How The Rahul Gandhi-PM Modi ‘Hug’ Row Started
The latest controversy comes after Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on PM Modi’s foreign policy at the Rachnatmak Congress national convention on Thursday.
Gandhi questioned the idea that foreign policy was primarily about hugging world leaders.
To make his point, he then hugged Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on stage.
“Imagine the ignorance… where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders?” Gandhi said.
Dikshit then jokingly asked Gandhi whether he had mistaken him for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Dubey Also Shares Indira Gandhi Photographs
Before sharing the Nehru photographs, Dubey had posted pictures of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
राहुल गांधी @RahulGandhi जी इस गले पड़ने को जठराग्नि कहते हैं कि कामाग्नि ? pic.twitter.com/qt4Fuyh13z
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) August 13, 2026
The BJP MP appeared to use the images to counter Gandhi’s criticism of Modi’s interactions with foreign leaders.
He also shared an older photograph showing Rahul Gandhi hugging PM Modi in the Lok Sabha.
Dubey accompanied the image with a provocative remark, questioning Gandhi’s description of Modi’s hug in Parliament.
