NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday said he held "no animosity" towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the hug he gave him in Parliament last July.
Gandhi said he hugged the prime minister, despite Modi criticising his family in the House.
The Congress chief referred to the incident, which had created a flutter last year, in response to a question during an interaction with university students here.
"You (Modi) may have anger and hatred toward me, but it is not in my heart. I have love," Gandhi said.
"In reality, I hold no animosity towards him," the Congress chief said.
He also took a veiled dig at the prime minister, claiming that after the hug, "Modi felt how someone showed love to me (Modi)?" Gandhi went on to extol the virtues of hugs, and urged the youth to try it with those classmates who harbour any grudge or feeling of animosity towards them.
"Try it, it is magic," he said.
He also recalled an incident after his grandmother Indira Gandhi's death to emphasise the power of hugs.
"My grandmother was more than my mother, as my mother was a disciplinarian and I would often hide behind my grandmother. After her assassination, I was very disturbed. I was very angry," he said.
Gandhi said his father, Rajiv Gandhi, was in Bengal during that time.
"When my father came back, he hugged me and that anger dissolved," he recalled.