There was just room enough to barely stand at the Central Hall of Parliament by the time US President Barack Obama made his entry to address both Houses. Several members of Parliament including former minister Mani Shankar Aiyer, Jayant Choudhary, Kalikesh Narayan Deo, Annu Tandon and Jyoti Mirdha had to stand for the entire session. This perhaps could have been why Aiyer later said that ?if the speech was to be considered really historic then Obama should have spoken of disarmament?.
However, Obama did manage to charm the gathering despite all the commotion. This was evident by the fact that he was applauded 35 times during the speech, despite making some statements on Iran, Myanmar and Pakistan that were rather not applausable for the gathering.
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur said as much after the speech. ?The speech was very good, and the tough message to Pakistan that havens for terrorists on its soil will not be tolerated were some of the good parts of the speech. He could have avoided the remarks on Myanmar and Iran. We have a strategic relationship with these countries,? he said.
The Left parties, which had decided not to boycott Obama but to ‘listen and be heard’ were expectedly a little disappointed. ?It is in India’s interests to have a strategic relationship with China,? said CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury..
A senior minister in the UPA government said Obama’s remarks on Myanmar were in fact a red herring and that the real message was a cry for support on the US position on Iran and its nuclear programme. ?But these things are par for the course, on the whole it was a beautifully written and delivered speech, a salutary lesson in fact to Indian politicians,? he said.
MPs had started pouring in as early as 3.30 pm for the event which began a couple of hours later. Several VIPs who were invitees but not members of either House had to search high and low for a chair, including former home minister L K Advani’s daughter Pratibha.