This is not called sleeping,' Congress leaders rush to Rahul Gandhi's defence

New Delhi: Congress leaders on Wednesday rushed to their Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s rescue after he was attacked by members of the Parliament for sleeping when the House was debating the recent atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat.

Gandhi was captured on camera, with his head lowered and eyes closed during the proceedings of the Lok Sabha, but Congress leaders asserted that he was not snoozing.

“He was not sleeping, how can someone sleep amidst the kind of uproar made in the Parliament. It’s so hot outside, when we go inside, we just close our eyes for a few seconds, that does not amount to sleeping, there are bigger issues to worry about than these petty matters,” said Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury.

BSP supremo Mayawati has earlier hit out at Rahul Gandhi for dozing off, asserting 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 the media here outside the Parliament.

Further hitting out at the Congress for trying to gain political mileage by chiming in at the last minute over the Dalit issue, she said that the grand old party had joined the party according to their own convenience.