Dattaprasad Naik, the spokesperson of Goa BJP on Tuesday said that he stood by his remarks that Rahul Gandhi acted like a 'loafer'. Commenting on Congress president's hug and wink Naik had said that winks were made by 'loafers' outside 'colleges or maybe at girls.' "The acts of Rahul Gandhi, the hug that the entire nation saw, disrespected the Parliament and everyone knows that such winks are made by loafers outside colleges or maybe at some girls. We condemn such incident," Naik was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

During the no-confidence motion on Friday, July 20, Congress president Gandhi had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and winked at his party members after returning to his seat.

The act was widely criticised by the BJP and triggered a war-of-words between the BJP and Congress. Following the incident, Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar called Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar a kathputli (puppet) at the hands of his allies.

Naik replied saying that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also a puppet in the hands of the then Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. 

"Rahul Gandhi who does not have substance or the understanding of issues related to the people of India had to resort to hugging the Prime Minister in the temple of democracy and then winking like a loafer. We have only heard of loafers winking at girls in colleges in the past and never such a shameful act has ever happened in the temple of Democracy. It's a shame that today Congress party has become a "Katputli" in the hands of Gandhi family," a statement by Naik read.