Delhi Confidential: First-Time Lucky

During the debate on Demand for Grants for Railways in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made a light-hearted remark that Congress’s first-time MP from Rajasthan’s Barmer Ummeda Ram Beniwal was speaking for the third time. Birla said this must have happened for the first time as some members don’t get a chance to speak even in five years. Someone from the floor of the House then remarked that the Speaker was right, to which Birla said with a smile: “Galat toh bolta nahi hun main (I am seldom wrong).”

Goodwill Galore

Former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan enjoys unparalleled goodwill among his party colleagues. Whenever he enters the Lok Sabha, many BJP members get up in reverence to him. Whenever Chouhan leaves the House, many MPs from Madhya Pradesh follow to see him off. He also enjoys warm ties with Opposition leaders. The other day, he walked up to TMC member Sudip Bandyopadhyay and had a brief conversation with him. It was a rare sight at a time when the Treasury and Opposition benches don’t enjoy cordial ties.

Pause & Praise

While she was citing examples of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh on minimum wages during her response to the discussions on Budget in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was asked to pause by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. He appreciated the FM’s fairness in touching the states of the Leader of Opposition and the leader of the House. Then he went on to add that he was privileged to be the Chairman at a time when the House has presidents of the country’s two leading parties as members.