NEW DELHI: Resentment and finger-pointing within Parliament gave way to conviviality and cordiality at a usual meeting of government functionaries after the Parliament session Prime Minister Narendra Modiand opposition MPs in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s hall over tea on Friday.The Congress and other opposition parties, which had skipped the session in some previous sessions to register their protest against the events in Parliament, were present in full force in an informal setting marked by Modi’s wit and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s relaxed and easy-going presence.Sources said Priyanka politely inquired of Modi about his foreign trip, setting the stage for a rare convivial setting with government and opposition members, some of whom pushed for a lengthy session as the 15-day session of the winter session, which was adjourned indefinitely, was one of the shortest ever.Since her brother Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in LS, was in Germany, first-time MP Priyanka was the main voice of the Congress at the meeting. Her confidence but easy-going nature is a change from Rahul’s more aggressive and confrontational approach, a source said.According to sources, Modi quizzed opposition MPs on the meeting and praised RSP MP NK Premachandran, a Congress ally, for his diligence in parliamentary matters. Several others also shared the veteran parliamentarian’s positive opinion. The Prime Minister made some lighthearted comments that brought smiles from everyone.Sources said Priyanka spoke about the health benefits she received from using an herb from her Wayanad constituency in Kerala.Modi used the Tamil greeting ‘Vanakkam’ for Manickam Tagore and Priyanka quipped that she too had learned a line in the language meaning ‘Vote for Congress’, which, sources said, drew smiles from everyone. There was laughter all around when a loud opposition MP called for a longer session and the government side joked that a short session might have given his throat some rest.According to sources, Birla highlighted the opportunity given to so many members of different parties to speak on bills and various issues despite the relatively short session. This was recognized by members at the meeting. The productivity of Lok Sabha was 111% in this session.Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was among the ministers present at the meeting, which was attended by Kumari Selja, Mohammad Jawed of Congress, Dharmendra Yadav of SP, A Raja of DMK and Supriya Sule of NCP(SP), besides several BJP allies.After returning from his three-nation tour last night, Modi joined LS as Vande Mataram was played to mark the end of the session soon after the 11 am session. The highlight of this Parliament session was the passage of the VB-G-RAM-G Bill, which seeks to replace the UPA-era MGNREGA, amidst strong protests from the opposition. The meeting, which was characterized by high productivity, ended with an exchange of blows between the government and opposition benches.As Birla read out his farewell statement in LS, the opposition raised slogans like “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai” to highlight their protest against the deletion of Gandhi’s name from the rural jobs guarantee scheme. A debate on air pollution, jointly initiated by DMK’s Priyanka and Kanimozhi, did not take place as a government functionary termed the “poor atmosphere” in the House.
