Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is seen because the architect of India’s financial reforms through the PV Narasimha Rao rule that paved the way in which for the nation’s financial progress. But apart from economics, his different abiding curiosity was ‘shayari’ and he usually employed verses to launch assaults on political rivals inside and outdoors the Parliament.
These poetry assaults drew loud cheers from each the treasury and the Opposition benches in instances when humour, and never hostility, dominated the temper in Parliament. Mr Singh’s shayari strikes discovered their worthy match within the fifteenth Lok Sabha. From 2009-14, BJP stalwart, late Sushma Swaraj, was the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the ‘jugalbandi’ of ‘shayari’ between the 2 was nothing lower than a delight.
In March 2011, the Parliament erupted over a Wikileaks cable that accused the then ruling Congress of bribing MPs through the 2008 belief vote. Leading the Opposition cost, Ms Swaraj focused the Prime Minister with Shahab Jafari’s well-known traces, “Tu idhar udhar ki na baat kar, yeh bata ki kafila kyun luta, humein rahjano se gila nahi, teri rahbari ka sawal hai.” The traces roughly translate to: “Don’t change the subject, simply say why the caravan was looted, we’ve nothing to say concerning the robbers, however it is a query in your management.”
The Prime Minister replied with Allama Iqbal’s couplet that drew a smile from Ms Swaraj and cheers from the House. “Mana ki teri did ke kaabil nahin hoon fundamental, tu mera shauq dekh mera intezar dekh” (I do know I’m not price your consideration, however take a look at my longing.”
Another conflict of couplets broke out between the 2 leaders in 2013 through the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
In a candy assault on the Opposition, former Prime Minister Singh used Mirza Ghalib’s traces, “Humein unse hai wafa ki ummeed jo nahin jante wafa kya hai.” (We count on loyalty from those that do not know what loyalty is.”
The Leader of the Opposition responded with two shers. The first one was by Bashir Badr. “Kuch to majuriyan rahi hongi, yun hello koi bewafa nahin hota (There have to be a motive for betraying love)”
In her second shayari strike, she added, “Tumhe wafa yaad nahi, Humein jafa yaad nahi, zindagi or maut ke toh do hee tarane hain, ek tumhein yaad nahi, ek humein yaad nahi“. The traces translate to “you do not bear in mind loyalty and we do not bear in mind disloyalty, life and loss of life have two rhythms, you do not bear in mind one, we do not bear in mind the opposite.”
When Ms Swaraj died in August 2019, Dr Singh had described her as a terrific parliamentarian and an exceptionally gifted Union minister. “I used to be shocked to listen to concerning the sudden demise of Sushma Swaraj. I’ve fond recollections of my affiliation together with her when she was Leader of Opposition within the Lok Sabha,” he had mentioned.
With Dr Singh gone in the present day, the 2 leaders and their ‘shayari jugalbandi’ will now dwell solely in our recollections of a less-polarised political discourse when debates in Parliament noticed much less chaos and extra cheers.