New Delhi, Dec 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had a friendly conversation at the customary meeting over tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday for the leaders of different parties after the conclusion of the Winter Session of Parliament.
Sources said during the get-together over tea, Gandhi, the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, is understood to have told Modi that she is learning Malayalam so that it helps her while conversing with her constituents.
She also asked the prime minister about his recent three-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East.
Modi is learnt to have told Gandhi, who was seated next to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and other leaders that the impression many people have in India about Ethopia is quite different from the actual position of that country, which is progressing very well socially and economically.
When Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav told the leaders that the Winter Session was one of the shortest with just 15 sittings, the prime minister told him in a friendly manner that it was good for his throat as he didn’t have to shout for too many days, inviting laughter from the leaders present, the sources said.
RSP leader N K Premchandran too complained about the short tenure of the session, with Speaker Birla reminding him that he had given him ample opportunities to speak on any subject.
Premchandran acknowledged Birla’s comments with a smile.
Gandhi joined the conversation by saying that many MPs like her always look at Premachandran’s conduct in the House and try to learn various aspects of parliamentary proceedings, the sources said.
Interestingly, Congress stayed away from the customary tea meeting after the last few sessions.
Those who attended the speaker’s tea party included NCP’s Supriya Sule, DMK’s A Raja, Union ministers Ram Mohan Naidu (TDP) and Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JDU), Chirag Paswan (LJP-RVP) and several other opposition leaders.
The leaders thanked Birla for the conduct of the session.
“After the conclusion of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, a pleasant conversation took place with the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and esteemed leaders of all parties,” Birla said in a post on X.
The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 1 and concluded on Friday, with Lok Sabha sittings for a cumulative duration of 92 hours and 25 minutes, marking 111 per cent productivity.
Ten government Bills were introduced during the session, of which eight were passed, including those for reforms in the civil nuclear, insurance, and healthcare sectors, among others.
Parliament also passed a Bill to replace the MGNREGA rural jobs scheme with the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill. (PTI)
