Rahul Gandhi, Sanjay Raut attack Modi over ‘Melody’ gift to Meloni; Sharad Pawar defends visit

Prime Minister PM Narendra Modirsquos visit to Italy and a lighthearted video of him gifting Melody toffees to his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni has triggered sharp political reactions back home with the Opposition using the moment to criticise the government over rising prices unemployment and paper leaksLeader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi took a strong dig at PM Modi during a public meeting in Amethi Uttar PradeshldquoThe youth are falling into depression NEET paper has been cancelled petrol prices are rising gas supplies are scarce and inflation continues to soar yet the PM of India is busy eating lsquomelodyrsquo with the PM of Italy Giorgia Meloni This is the actual state of the countryrdquo Gandhi saidWATCH Amethi UP Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says The youth are falling into depression NEET paper has been cancelled petrol prices are rising gas supplies are scarce and inflation continues to soar yet the PM of India is busy eating melody with the PM of Italyhellip pictwittercomRH0nYVoscpmdash ANI ANI May 20 2026Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Member of Parliament MP Sanjay Raut also criticised the optics of the visit Sharing a couplet he suggested that the leadership was focused on optics while ignoring public concerns pictwittercomSHe5aCkl5Umdash Sanjay Raut rautsanjay61 May 20 2026Shiv Sena UBT Spokesperson Anand Dubey said people expect the PM to return with positive developments particularly on fuel prices and international peace effortsMeanwhile Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stepped up the attack on the government on X accusing the government of economic mismanagementKharge attacks Modi ldquoEnjoy the lsquoMelodyrsquo of speeches while surviving the lsquomiseryrsquo of governmentrsquos lootrdquoldquoModi ji wants the public to enjoy the lsquomelodyrsquo of speeches while surviving the lsquomiseryrsquo of his governmentrsquos lootrdquo Kharge saidModi ji wants the public to enjoy the ldquomelodyrdquo of speeches while surviving the ldquomiseryrdquo of his governments loot In the past 11 years under Modi Govt the average debt per Indian has increased 11fold while the wealth of 229 tycoons along with 26 newly addedhellip pictwittercomnyuuUuyjlYmdash Mallikarjun Kharge kharge May 20 2026He claimed that in the past 11 years the average debt per Indian had increased 11fold while the wealth of 229 tycoons along with 26 new billionaires had crossed Rs 9750 lakh crore Kharge further stated that domestic liquefied petroleum gas LPG cylinder prices had risen by 121 per cent since 2014 from Rs 414 to Rs 91550 while commercial cylinder prices had gone up by nearly 154 per centPawar defends Modirsquos foreign engagementsTaking a contrasting view Nationalist Congress Party SP chief Sharad Pawar said political differences should not come in the way of recognising PM Modirsquos efforts to uphold Indiarsquos prestige on the global stageldquoPolitical differences should not come in the way when it comes to protecting Indiarsquos prestige and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to uphold the countryrsquos honour abroadrdquo Pawar said at an event in Pune on TuesdayBiju Janata Dal BJD MP Sasmit Patra also welcomed the ModiMeloni meeting saying both countries share democratic and cultural values He described the visit as significant amid global instability and expressed hope that it would strengthen bilateral cooperationMeanwhile Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD MP Manoj Jha said it would not be appropriate to comment while PM Modi is on a foreign trip adding that the focus should remain on the outcomes of the diplomatic engagementBharatiya Janata Party BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain described the visit as successful and said India and Italy enjoy strong bilateral relationsThe political reactions come after a video of PM Modi gifting Melody toffees to Giorgia Meloni during their meeting in Rome went viral with the Italian leader posting it on social media The moment has been widely shared online reviving the lsquoMelodirsquo trendThank you for the gift pictwittercom7ePxbJwPbAmdash Giorgia Meloni GiorgiaMeloni May 20 2026With PTI IANS and ANI inputs