Yes the COTW instigated Shukla. He poked him. Else he was shant. So the rant about Rashmi started otherwise he would not have done it.
(I feel Asim had brought this COTW to instigate him because only he knows how to instigate him)
Otherwise Shukla is not bad.
On a serious note, be it Rashmi or Sidharth, they should be matured enough to not bring their personal matters on a public platform. As salman pointed it out to Sana, people like her need gossip.