The winter session of Parliament ended on Wednesday, and after the session ended, a unique political scene was seen in the Parliament complex. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, along with MPs from different ruling and opposition parties were seen together. Informal discussions took place over tea regarding the functioning of Parliament and proceedings of the session. Pictures and videos of this meeting have surfaced, in which many big leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties are seen on the same stage. In this discussion over tea, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Union Ministers Chirag Paswan, Lalan Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party MPs Rajiv Rai and Dharmendra Yadav, and DMK MP A. Raja, as well as several other floor leaders, were also present.
According to sources, there was a cordial and positive conversation between PM Modi and Priyanka Gandhi regarding Wayanad. During the meeting, the members requested the Prime Minister to provide a dedicated hall in the new Parliament building. A senior minister replied that a similar system was in place in the old Parliament House, but it was rarely used. The members also told the Prime Minister that the session was very productive, although it could have been extended further, as passing bills late at night is not considered ideal. On a lighter note, it was also said that the session was relatively short due to continuous protests by the opposition. On this the Prime Minister jokingly said that he did not want to put too much pressure on the opposition voices.
As per tradition, after the end of the Parliament session, the Prime Minister hosts a tea party, to which members of both the ruling and opposition parties are invited. It is considered a symbol of dialogue and harmony in parliamentary democracy. A tea party was also held after the last monsoon session, but only the leaders of the constituent parties of the ruling coalition participated in it. Leaders of major opposition parties including Congress had boycotted the Tea Party at that time. Now, after the winter session, leaders of all parties having tea together is being seen as a positive sign in political circles.
