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NEW DELHI: As Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a hug-capped blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament, his party leaders hailed him for a "game-changing speech" and said the 'hug' was a spur-of-the-moment move and not a scripted one.

After accusing Modi and his government of indulging in 'jumla attacks' in form of demonetisation and other decisions during his speech in Lok Sabha , Gandhi walked up to the treasury benches and hugged Modi, taking the prime minister and others by surprise.

Soon after, several Congress leaders took to Twitter to hail their president and to attack the BJP and the Modi government.

"What an astonishing performance by @RahulGandhi. It was a game-changing speech, tearing apart the Govt's claims & ending with that unscripted hug that has literally taken the BJP's breath away #BhukampAaGaya," Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted.

Several BJP leaders termed Gandhi's speech and gestures during the no-confidence motion against the government as part of a scripted 'dramebaazi'.

The social media platform saw several tweets about Gandhi's speech getting hashtagged with 'bhukamp' or earthquake, linking a statement made by the Congress leader in 2016 after demonetisation that people will see an 'earthquake' if the BJP leaders allow him to speak in Parliament.

Another Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said,"It (hug) was not scripted. It was on the spur of the moment."

The party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked why the BJP was shaken and why was there so much anger in the saffron party.

"Why isn't the seedling of love growing. Why so much hatred for Rahul Gandhi and Congress. The PM should have thought that even after being junior to him, the way he (Rahul) showed respect, he should have at least thanked him for that," Surjewala said, referring to Rahul's hug.

He said the country knew the truth and even if Modi may not give answers to questions raised by Rahul Gandhi he should tell the nation when will farmers get rid of debts, when will youth get 2 crore jobs every year and when will atrocities stop on dalits, women and weaker sections.

"Be it Giriraj SIngh, or Harsimrat Kaur, or Kiron Kher or Smriti Irani or BJP's official troll spokesperson, I have only one thing to say -- Raghupathi Raghav Raja Ram, Aapko bhi sanmati de bhagwan," he said.

Congress Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken also termed Gandhi's speech as "excellent" and his hug a "winner".

"Excellent speech by @RahulGandhi. His four words phrase is going to haunt Modi for a long long time! Cahukidar nahi bhagidar hai. @RahulGandhi's 'hug' was a winner, and this gesture is an answer to the enormous hatred spread under the BJP's governance!," he tweeted.

Gandhi also launched a frontal attack on the NDA government over unfulfilled promises and questioned the Rafale deal demanding answers from the prime minister on why he allegedly favoured a particular businessman in the contract.

