On a day when the BJP government in Gujarat was caught on the back foot by protests by Dalit groups escalating in the state, one least expected a Congress leader to come to BJP’s rescue in Parliament.
The public flogging of a Dalit family for allegedly skinning a cow in Una town last week had the entire opposition up in arms. That is when TV news channels flashed the biggest boo-boo of the day-Rahul Gandhi dozing off during the high-pitched debate in Lok Sabha.
NDTV
This took the focus away from the entire debate and for a while social media too forgot the misery of Dalits as Twitter warriors went hammer and tongs at the Congress Vice-President. Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Gujarat on Thursday and meet the victims of the Una attack, so to be found blissfully sleeping during a turbulent debate on the issue came as a surprise even to his critics.
Congress VP Rahul Gandhi caught napping in Lok Sabha againhttps://t.co/Tqe7kHiLfd— Times of India (@timesofindia) July 20, 2016
One possible reason could be boredom. The Congress leader has visited so many Dalit households across the country in the past 10 years that his ears are fatigued hearing the same arguments on Dalit atrocities. His visits were described as poverty tourism by the opposition leaders during UPA rule. Another could be a desire to give competition to former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his party, JDS, in Karnataka. But assembly elections in the state are also nearly two years away, hence starting the competition now would be too early. Deve Gowda would often sleep in Parliament when he was heading the United Front government that was in power from 1996 to 1998.
WATCH: Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury's clarification on Rahul Gandhi appearing to be dozing off in Lok Sabha.https://t.co/BdhqvGwG1U— ANI (@ANI_news) July 20, 2016
While most Congress leaders were still struggling to think of ways and means to defend their second-most supreme leader, Renuka Chowdhury valiantly defended Rahul Gandhi. She argued that a person normally tends to shut their eyes once they enter indoors from the harsh sunlight and Rahul Gandhi was doing just that. But this scientific breakthrough was busted when the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati claimed that the Congress leader was indeed sleeping. This is the second time he has been criticised for sleeping in Parliament. He was caught napping in July, 2014 as well.
Narendra Modi Caught Sleeping During Parliament Session, #PMJetLag Becomes Hottest Topic Around Town pic.twitter.com/3ebpx9n5CV— Swachh Politics (@SwachhPolitics) November 26, 2015
Among the infinite reasons cited for Rahul Gandhi’s sleep; watching Chhota Bheem and playing Pokemon figure as the most prominent on social media. But is he the only leader to have been found napping in parliament? According to some, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too was guilty of the same during the much hyped debate on Constitution Day last year. Union ministers Santosh Gangwar and Smriti Irani also have been caught napping in parliament. So what gives BJP the moral right to poke fun at Rahul?
@narendramodi Sad not to see any 'Rajiv Gandhi Bachon Ko— Hardik sanghvi (@hardikssanghvi) July 10, 2014
Parliament Mein Sulayo Yojna'
Politicians are known for their ability to take cat naps during short journeys while travelling, be it the road or air. Succumbing to the temptation of sleep during working hours is normal human nature. Clearly, our politicians seem no different.
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