New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday made yet another attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving hugs to foreign leaders and dignitaries by saying that there were "some things a hug can buy", but for US visas "you're on your own".
The Gandhi scion also described the proposed changes in US visa rules as a "huge setback" for India, which he felt would make it extremely difficult for Indians to obtain a US permit to visit or stay in the country.
Rahul took to micro-blogging site Twitter and tweeted, ''New US Visa Rules, huge setback for India...."
"There are some things a hug can buy. For visas, you're on your own," the Congress chief said in a wordplay on the MasterCard ad campaign which says, "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard".
Rahul Gandhi made these observations in the backdrop of Donald Trump Administration's proposal to end work permits for the spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in the US - a move that could have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Indians.
"Foreign Policy by Narendra Modi, Foreword by Donald Trump," Rahul Gandhi said mocking the government's diplomacy.
New US Visa Rules, huge setback for India...
There are some things a hug can buy. For visas, you’re on your own.
Foreign Policy by Narendra Modi, Foreword by Donald Trump.https://t.co/K2Mchgqwpk
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 26, 2018
Gandhi has earlier attacked the Prime Minister over what he termed 'hugplomacy' after Pakistan released 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind and Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest.
The Congress party had sometimes back posted Congress mocked PM Modi's `hugplomacy` in a meme video posted on Twitter, which evoked an equally sharp response from the ruling BJP.
The video was posted shortly after PM Modi received his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at an airport with a warm hug.
In the video, the Congress apparently ridiculed Prime Minister Modi`s ways of hugging with several world leaders by describing them with comic tags along with gifs.
Reacting to it, the BJP said sarcastically that the video showed the "new" thinking of the grand old party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
Days after he was ridiculed by the Congress over his habit of giving warm hugs to international leaders with whom he shares good relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is a common man and not aware of laid protocols.
PM Modi said that had he been "trained", he too would have followed the laid down protocols of shaking hands and "looking left and right" with world leaders.
The Trump administration's move to end the Obama-era rule could have an impact on more than 70,000 H-4 visas holders, who have work permits.
H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India.
They had obtained work permits under a special order issued by the previous Obama administration.
(With PTI inputs)
