New Delhi, July 10 – The nation has woken up to a parliamentarian sleeping in Parliament. They cannot believe their representative would be caught napping when the biggest issue facing them is being discussed in the Lok Sabha.
All because Rahul Gandhi was caught yawning and then succumbing to it. To yawn is human, to not surrender to it is divine. Rahul Gandhi is made of flesh and blood. While poking fun at a sleepy politician, we forgot that very few people had a sound sleep last night.
They kept themselves awake till the match began to watch Brazil winning their semi-final match. Brazil’s shocker of a loss kept them awake after the match was over.
While one can argue that the Lok Sabha is the last place to fall asleep, one must take into account that the House is utterly peaceful when it works. There are very few people when discussions on burning topics take place. It’s not that Rahul was caught sleeping when members were in the well demanding adjournment over a minor issue.
Parliament was functioning smoothly. Remember that when Parliament is working to its optimum, nothing happens there except talking. You can call them speeches. Everybody gets to speak and those present do. It is usually a drone. If you notice, Rahul Gandhi was sitting just behind a member speaking.
That’s the ideal moment to catch a wink. The speaker is standing, thus covering you from Madam Speaker, the boss of the House. Also worthy of notice is the comedian behind Rahul.
He is not the first and certainly won’t be the last to yawn, snore and go into sleep. Lok Sabha used to be Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s favourite place to sleep. He promptly fell asleep after coming to the House. He was a minister.
Even today, when Rahul’s nap is making news, a minister in Modi government, Santosh Gangwar, was catching his forty winks. Mr HD Deve Gowda made a name for himself by sleeping at inappropriate places.
Recently a photo of Digvijaya Singh avenging Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s slumber went viral. Politicians are a hardworking lot. They have to be present at many meetings.
Some begin really early and most finish really late. They catch their sleep in between the first and the last. What’s this noise about the Congress scion sleeping. Please keep silent. You might wake him up.
-INDIA TODAY
