New Delhi: A leader of reserve and quiet dignity, former prime minister Manmohan Singh had a keen taste for Urdu verses, and his poetic banters with BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha are among the most viewed parliamentary debates on social media.

During a fierce debate in Parliament in 2011, the-then Lok Sabha opposition leader Swaraj deployed Varanasi-born poet Shahab Jafri’s ‘sher’ to fire a salvo at prime minister Singh, whose government was beginning to be mired in corruption charges.

She said during the debate, “‘Tu idhar udhar ki na baat kar, yeh bata ki kafila kyun luta, humein rahjano se gila nahi, teri rahbari ka sawal hai (Instead of talking about irrelevant issues, tell us why the caravan was looted. I have no complaint against the robbers but I question your leadership)’.” Instead of meeting fire with fire, Singh — in his very own unassuming way — invoked Allama Iqbal’s disarming lines to bring down the roof.

He said, “‘Mana ki teri deed ke kaabil nahin hoon main, tu mera shauq dekh mera intezar dekh (Agreed I am not worthy of drawing your sight. But look at my zeal, my longing)’.” The two leaders, both with a taste for literature, were to clash again in 2013 during a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

Singh deployed Mirza Ghalib to take aim first.

He said, “‘Hum ko un se wafa ki hai ummeed, jo nahin jante wafa kya hai (I expect love from someone who does not know what love is)’.” Swaraj, in her inimitable manner, turned to the more contemporary Bashir Badr and hit back, “‘Kuchh to majburiyan rahi hongi, yun koi bewafa nahin hota (There must be some compulsions as no one ignores love for nothing)’.” Singh had resorted to a similar poetic response when reporters quizzed him on corruption charges besetting his government.

He had said, “‘Hazaro jawabon se achchhi hai meri khamoshi, jo kayi sawalo ki aabru dhak leti hai (My silence is better than thousands of questions, or it will expose many of the questions)’.” Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms and a consensus builder in the rough world of politics, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, late on Thursday. He was 92.

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