PM Modi, Sonia Gandhi at Speaker’s meet with parties post Lok Sabha adjournment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined other party leaders in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s chamber after the acrimonious monsoon session was adjourned sine die on Tuesday. The two leaders, however, didn’t speak to each other, according to two leaders present in the meeting.

“The PM and Mrs Gandhi greeted each other but avoided any conversation throughout the meeting that lasted for around 20 minutes,” said one of them, who was present in the meeting and asked not to be identified. The leaders of several parties assembled in the Speaker’s chamber to thank him for running the session after its adjournment.

This was the first meeting between Modi and Gandhi in at least two years. The two leaders sat in adjacent sofas with Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury sitting right next to the PM. Gandhi didn’t attend Parliament for more than a year after the Covid-19 outbreak due to health reasons. She came to Parliament on Monday.

The meeting itself was cordial, despite the acrimony witnessed during the session which was characterised by disruptions, and the government quietly pushing through its legislative agenda amid the din in the House. There were no further arguments between leaders of the Opposition and the government . The Opposition was keen on discussing and debating the Pegasus snooping controversy, the farm laws, and the fuel price rise in the House.

Leaders of many opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, the Akali Dal, the YSRCP and the Biju Janata Dal met Birla after the session.

Birla urged all of them to focus on encourage discussion and dialogue in the House in future, and said, “Discussion and dialogue will be right for the welfare of the public. We can help people fulfil deficiencies of the people.”

TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay also took this opportunity to request the PM to send more vaccines to West Bengal, reminding Modi that Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has written three letters in this regard. Another opposition MP thanked home minister Amit Shah for personally wishing him on his birthday.