Speaking volumes

No one dissed Ms Sitharaman, with many opposition MPs swarming around her in concern as she faded out with two pages to read

In the space of three days, two significant speeches were delivered, one in the world’s largest democracy and the other in the world’s most powerful one. Both took place against the backdrop of heightened political challenges for the incumbent government. Both will be remembered for reasons other than the content of the speeches. And both point to a depressing decline in the standards of public oratory. 
 
The first by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the second Budget of Narendra Modi’s second term when economic growth has dwindled was a record two hours and 43 minutes long, would have been