Heated exchanges, debates, protests in the well, demonstrations outside Parliament, walkouts, there was a flurry of incidents over the last 18 days. From the 'Vande Mataram' song to the massive uproar over removing 'Bapu's name from the 'NREGA' scheme, Parliament's winter session ended with opposition protests. However, political opposition melted away over 'chai pe charcha'. At the tea circle organised by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the end of the session, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi remained the centre of attention.
During the parliamentary session, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had to travel to Germany. Priyanka Gandhi had been leading Congress in the debates. The ruling party MPs also noticed Priyanka's sharp attacks while standing in Parliament. However, a different picture was seen at today's tea circle.
On this day, Om Birla published a photo on his X handle. It showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Speaker Om Birla sitting on a sofa on one side of the room. Right next to them on another sofa sat Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and on the sofa right beside him sat Priyanka Gandhi.
The Prime Minister had recently visited Ethiopia, Jordan and Oman. According to a media report, Priyanka asked Modi about how that trip went. She even told some stories about a herbal medicine from Wayanad, which made Modi and Rajnath laugh.
At the meeting, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav mentioned that it would have been better if the session had been extended a bit longer! Modi jokingly said that the session duration was deliberately kept short so that his (Dharmendra Yadav's) throat wouldn't hurt from shouting during debates. During the chat, several opposition MPs requested the Prime Minister to include a Central Hall like the old building in the new Parliament building. In that hall of the old building, former and current MPs had an opportunity to sit and discuss. Modi replied, 'That's for after retirement. You still have a lot of work left.' This brought laughter to the meeting.
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Earlier, during the monsoon session, Rahul Gandhi and other opposition MPs were not present at this tea circle. No one attended this tea circle after raising allegations about the Speaker's bias in Parliament. That position has changed this time. Besides Priyanka and Dharmendra Yadav, NCP MP Supriya Sule and CPI leader D Raja were also present at this day's meeting. Laughter, jokes, stories, tea, ruling party and the opposition mingled together as one.
