Warmth of bonhomie amid ‘winter chill’ in parliament
November 22nd, 2011 - 5:44 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Their strong differences notwithstanding, many MPs cutting across party lines warmly greeted each other as parliament opened Tuesday for a nearly month-long session. And setting an example was Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal.
The session, which got off to a stormy start, is expected to be tumultuous in the wake of the opposition gunning for Home Minister P. Chidambaram for his alleged role in the 2G scandal.
But as MPs gathered on the first day of the session, Bansal walked to the opposition benches and greeted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders with folded hands.
Exchanging smiles, the minister shook hands with L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Karia Munda of the BJP.
Bansal stopped for a while near Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and had a brief chat, which ended with laughter.
He then moved towards Left leaders before shaking hands with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Shiv Sena leaders.
Not only Bansal, but other Congress leaders, including IT and Communication Minister Kapil Sibal, also spoke to BJP leaders before the session began.
However, when the session started, the warmth gave way to a chill.
The opposition targeted the government over various issues and boycotted Chidambaram’s reply to a question. The home minister was shouted down and prevented from speaking.
It seemed the opposition-treasury ties had frozen.
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Tags: affairs minister, bonhomie, bsp, congress leaders, folded hands, home minister, kapil sibal, l k advani, leader of opposition, long session, mps, munda, murli manohar joshi, opposition benches, p chidambaram, parliamentary affairs, shaking hands, swaraj, winter chill, yashwant sinha