Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi appeared to have briefly dozed off in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday in footage sourced from cameras placed in the House.
The candid camera moment happened during the debate on price rise that Congress had insisted on, sparking off a war of words between the BJP and Congress. While the BJP took potshots at the Gandhi scion's catnap, terming it a rerun of the Congress sleeping over issues during its 10-year rule, the Congress said many BJP MPs were known to doze off during important debates and even Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to listen to debates with his eyes shut.
Pouncing upon the catnap, BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain tweeted, "Rahul Gandhi was seen sleeping in Parliament during a debate on price rise. That's what the Congress was doing during their 10 year rule."
However, senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla retorted that BJP had no right to target Rahul over an issue as trivial and frivolous as a catnap. "A lot of BJP MPs keep dozing off during important debates. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee use to shut his eyes in a patient hearing of the debate... Rahul may have been doing the same," said Shukla.
Even Congress allies like NCP sprung to Rahul's defence, with party leader Praful Patel stating that "just because people close their eyes in Parliament doesn't mean they are sleeping".
Since Parliament convened on Monday, the Congress has been agitating for a discussion on price rise, even disrupting the House in the process. Realizing how food inflation directly impacted the aam aadmi, the Congress on Wednesday fielded senior leader Amarinder Singh to initiate the debate and corner the Modi government.
Rahul, who has been battling the perception of fitful engagement with politics, was present in the House right from the start of the discussion. However, by the time the second speaker, P Karunakaran of CPM, started his argument, he was seen yawning, his eyelids appeared to droop and his head flopped -- all actions associated with a disinterested listener drifting off to sleep.
Since Rahul's catnap lasted barely a few seconds, it escaped the notice of most members but was captured by Lok Sabha cameras. In fact, Rahul's placement right behind Karunakaran ensured that they appeared in the same frame as the Kerala leader put forth his arguments on price rise.
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