A heart-warming video featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone viral after he gifted a stray puppy to party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s granddaughter on her birthday. The clip, shared by the Congress party on September 8, shows Gandhi arriving at Kharge’s residence with a large gift box. Inside was a smaller crate containing the puppy, which he carefully unwrapped before introducing it to the family.

The video captures Gandhi gently holding the puppy and later playing with it alongside Kharge’s family members. Congress, while sharing the moment on Instagram, captioned it: “Great love comes in small packages. A birthday gift to remember for Kharge Ji’s granddaughter.”

The gesture sparked mixed reactions online. Many social media users praised Gandhi’s decision to adopt and gift a stray dog, describing it as a thoughtful act symbolizing compassion. Some even hailed the move as befitting of a “future Prime Minister.”

However, criticism also emerged over animal welfare concerns. Viewers pointed out that the puppy was placed inside a wrapped gift box without visible ventilation, questioning whether the method was safe for the animal.

The timing of the video added political context, coinciding with the Supreme Court’s recent modification of an earlier order on stray dog management in Delhi-NCR following rising bite incidents.

The video comes during a politically sensitive phase for Congress. Kharge recently faced backlash after a viral clip showed him dismissing a farmer’s complaint about crop loss. He also accused the Election Commission of shielding those allegedly involved in voter roll irregularities in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has been under fire from the BJP over reports of his vacation in Malaysia during farmer distress in flood-hit regions. This followed his “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar on September 1, where he and Kharge, along with INDIA bloc leaders, raised concerns about voter list manipulation ahead of assembly polls.