He focussed most of his attention on the Left and differentiated the new CPI(M) leadership from the earlier leaders, like Harkishen Singh Surjeet, for its handling of the situation. “Yeh nahin samajh rahe hain ki woh Kalidas ki tarah daal kaat rahe hain (They do not realise that they are cutting the branch like Kalidas),” he said in an indirect reference to Prakash Karat and others.

On the other hand, Rahul tried to cut across party lines to underline the need for energy security. “I decided to take a step that most politicians normally don’t. I decided to make a central assumption that all here speak in the interest of this nation. Yesterday, I thought why we are here today. The conclusion is that because there is a serious problem in India and that is energy security,” he said.

Linking poverty to the country’s energy needs, he quoted the example of Kalawati, a widow he met during his recent trip to Vidarbha. Kalawati’s husband, he said, had committed suicide because he was dependent on a single crop of cotton. With nine children to take care of, Kalawati was forced to diversify and sow three crops. She bought two buffaloes and also build a pond for rainwater harvesting, said Rahul.

In a stinging attack on CPI member Gurudas Dasgupta’s comments on the availability of basic needs like food, Lalu said: “Gurudas apne bhashan mein keh rahe the, humko roti chahiye. Lagta hai bhookhe hai. Roti kaha se aayegi, roti aasman se nahi aayegi, roti aayegi to infrastructure se aayegi. (Gurudas was talking about food in his speech. I think he is hungry. Where will food come from? It won’t come from the sky, it will come from development of infrastructure).”

... contd.