Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday found himself in the midst of a controversy for seemingly ‘dozing off’ in the lok Sabha even as almost the entire Opposition led by his own party Congress was protesting vociferously over the Government’s reply on alleged Dalit atrocities in Gujarat.
As Congress MPs battled and trooped into the well of the House, Rahul, who will on Thursday visit Una, where the incident occurred, was seen blissfully unaware of the happenings around.
As Union Home Minister Rajnath was replying and was being interrupted repeatedly by Congress benches , television footage inescapably showed Rahul sleeping with his forehead resting in his palm. Interestingly, his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had earlier in the day asked party MPs to corner the Government on the issue Dalit atrocities and also lashed out at the ruling dispensation.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury defended Rahul saying that he was just “resting his eyes”.
BSP supremo Mayawati, however, said that it showed his lackadaisical attitude towards the sensitive matter. “When the discussion was going on in the lok Sabha on the matter, Rahul was sleeping, so you can understand his attitude towards the issue and see how serious he is towards atrocities on Dalits,” Mayawati told mediapersons outside the Parliament.