The classic line “Even Homer nods” is symbolic of extreme competence bordering on genius undone by momentary lack of alertness. There is not an iota of the pejorative to it. But when it comes to Rahul Gandhi nodding off in the midst of a fiery debate in Parliament on a subject on which he has showed some concern, as in much publicised meal-sharing with dalits, such nodding off can elicit the most disparaging comments. His party flunkeys’ explanations for his shut eyes do not merit even a moment’s attention, so patently obsequious they are. The candid cameras caught it all — the eyes shutting, the sudden wakefulness showing the confusing transition from the inactive to the active, and then alacrity in political action in visiting Una in Gujarat, the scene of atrocities against dalits, the very next day.
The Congress vice-president catching some shuteye in the middle of serious political business in a cathedral of democracy is, however, not so much about degrees of sin on the part of netas as it is of public perception of the personality. As fate would have it, the old party has suffered its worst drubbing in electoral politics since Independence just during the time Rahul has been spending as its heir apparent. And he is perhaps just months away from coronation as its president. Had this been a Homeric nod, he may even have got away with a “light sentence” as a first-time offender. But for an MP known for serial peccadilloes in this category of momentary inattentiveness, it is an image ripper. To draw a lesson from this public expose of his personal predilection of power napping is the challenge ahead for Rahul.
