Raebareli, 13 Sept

A high-level review meeting of central schemes in Raebareli witnessed a heated exchange between Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh, after the latter was reminded that members must seek the chair’s permission before speaking.

The confrontation at the 11 September DISHA (District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee) meeting, co-chaired by Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, went viral after a video surfaced on Friday.

Sharma said Singh interrupted proceedings by directly questioning officials. “In DISHA meetings, members must seek the chair’s permission before speaking. A minister should know parliamentary etiquette,” he told PTI, urging the chief minister to take note.

Singh, minister of state for horticulture, later issued a lengthy social media post after an image circulated of Gandhi shaking hands with his son, also a local block chief. Singh accused Congress supporters of trolling him, but added: “My son should not have merely shaken hands but touched Rahul Gandhi’s feet, since he is my age.”

Singh said Gandhi refused to shake hands with him, and called for “an end to the controversy”, writing, “Let us move forward in apni apni disha (our own directions).”

The meeting also saw other disruptions, with expelled SP MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey boycotting the session and Lalganj block head Shivani Singh staying away after alleging her vehicle was denied entry.

BJP MLA Aditi Singh said such spats undermined the forum’s purpose. “You have every other platform for politics, 365 days for politics. But when you have development-oriented meetings, it is best to stick to protocol and deal respectfully with issues related to the public,” she said.