Embarrassment for the Congress as party vice-president Rahul Gandhi is caught sleeping in Parliament as the debate on Dalit attacks in Gujarat is heard today. An irate BSP chief Mayawati said the very fact that Rahul was sleeping shows just how serious the Congress is when it comes to these issues.

Images of Rahul sleeping in the Lok Sabha were beamed across TV channels just when the Leader of the Congress in the Lower House  Mallikarjun Kharge was making his statement after Home Minister Rajnath Singh's speech in the house.

The Congress today targeted RSS and BJP in Lok Sabha over attacks on some dalit men in Gujarat for skinning a dead cow, saying the Hindutva organisation was working for "dalit-mukt Bharat" which was "sponsored" by BJP to polarise communities ahead of next year's assembly polls there.

The opposition party demanded constitution of a joint parliamentary committee to go into the incident but Home Minister Rajnath Singh strongly refuted its charges and cited figures to claim that cases of atrocities against dalits have declined in the state since 2001 when Narendra Modi took over as chief minister, and commended the state government for its "swift and effective" action.

This is the third time Rahul has been photographed sleeping in the House.
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Image: A screen grab of Rahul Gandhi taking a nap in the Lok Sabha this morning