Javed Akhtar asks MPs to show some mercy to poetry: Here's what he said

The 12-hour long debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha might have entertained many people but noted lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar felt otherwise.

Javed Akhtar. (Photo: Solaris Images)

NEW DELHI: The 12-hour long debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha might have entertained many people but noted lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar felt otherwise. Expressing his dismay at the way poetry was recited in Parliament on Friday, Akhtar requested the MPs to show “some mercy to poetry”. Akhtar on Tuesday took to his Twitter account and wrote: "With folded hands and utmost humility I want to request the MPs of all the parties in the lok sabha to at least have some mercy on poetry. "Without any exception, each and every couplet recited during the 12-hour session was wrongly worded, out of meter or mispronounced," he added. During the heated debate, many politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi used poetry to attack their rival parties. AAP leader Bhagwat Mann recited a poem mocking the BJP's slogan of 'Achhe din'.

कहां गई वो 100 दिन में काले धन की बात? पिछले 4 साल से देश की जनता सुन रही है रेडियो पर सिर्फ मन की बात।

मोदी जी 4-5 महीनो में आप जाने वाले हैं, अब तो बता दो अच्छे दिन कब आने वाले हैं ? - AAP सांसद, @BhagwantMann #NoConfidenceMotion पर बोलते हुए pic.twitter.com/w2PqGvRDj2 — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 20, 2018

There was also a moment of drama when Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, after a blistering attack on the government, walked over to hug the Prime Minister. The no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was decisively defeated after an acrimonious debate in the Lok Sabha. A total of 325 MPs opposed while 126 MPs supported the no trust motion moved by the TDP, a former BJP ally, during the division after a marathon 12-hour debate. A total of 451 MPs were present and voted in the House and the majority mark required in a House with an effective strength of 534 MPs came down to 226. Members of BJP ally Shiv Sena(18 MPs), BJD(19) and TRS (14) abstained. The victory of the BJP-led NDA government was not unexpected but the intense debate gave an opportunity to the leaders of rival parties to set the agenda for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The no trust motion was the first after Modi assumed office in May 2014 and less than a year before the next general elections.