Amid continued questioning of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership qualities by several party leaders, the Congress vice president was on Wednesday found sleeping in Parliament, oblivious to speeches or camera lights shining on him.
A picture of him with his head bowing on right while his eyes were seemingly shut has gone viral on social media.
The footage from Lok Sabha showed Gandhi with his eyes closed at around 12:33 pm, when the Congress member in front of him was speaking.
Taking a potshot at Rahul Gandhi, senior BJP leader 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 yr rule.
The Congress, however, immediately denied it, saying it was “factually incorrect”.
Downplaying the incident, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said this was not an issue for debate.
A few days ago, Congress’ general secretary Digvijay Singh triggered a debate on the ability of Rahul Gandhi to lead his party by saying the 44-year-old Gandhi scion lacks the temperament to rule.
In an interview to a Goa television news channel, Singh, who is party in-charge of Goa and often touted as Gandhi’s political guru, had said Gandhi should have taken up the responsibility of leading the Congress in the Lok Sabha and taking on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“He is by temperament not a ruling person. He is by temperament someone who wants to fight injustice,” he had said.
Digvijay Singh’s statement had come at a time when Gandhi had been under attack from several state units for failing to add any punch to the Congress’s election campaign, leading to its worst poll debacle.
The Congress won only 44 seats in the General Elections, 10 less than the number required to stake its claim to the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
