Delhi Confidential: Extra Time

On Thursday, when he was trying to raise an issue about the administration in the island, he was allowed to speak for more than two minutes whereas an MP usually gets a minute to speak during Zero Hour.

P P Mohammed Faizal

Being the lone Lok Sabha member from Lakshadweep, NCP’s P P Mohammed Faizal usually gets a chance to raise his issues during the Zero Hour. On Thursday, when he was trying to raise an issue about the administration in the island, he was allowed to speak for more than two minutes whereas an MP usually gets a minute to speak during Zero Hour. Speaker Om Birla, who listened to him carefully without reminding him about the time, said Faizal could be the one who got the highest number of chances to speak in the 17th Lok Sabha. “I am grateful to you, sir. I am the only representative for them. The people of Lakshadweep are also thankful to you,” he said. Hearing this, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey suggested that Faizal invite the Speaker to Lakshadweep and felicitate him.

Southern Corner

The BJP may not be so popular in the southern states, but one corner of the BJP office in Parliament building is always flooded with people from the south, especially from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The corner office, where the party’s parliamentary secretary Balasubrahmanyam Kamarsu sits, is known as “mini-Andhra” among the MPs. Balasubrahmanyam being an old RSS hand, people from that organisation also make it a point to visit him if they come to the capital, and he never sends back anyone without offering them tea or coffee in summers and soup and papad in winters.

Defiant Note

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy was invited to speak during a panel discussion at the Pan IIM Conference on Thursday. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh and BJP MPs Suresh Prabhu, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Satya Pal Singh were also meant to participate in the discussion, but couldn’t make it because of the ongoing Parliament session. Swamy told his audience that he chose to attend the conference despite the party whip, even though such defiance could cost an MP his seat. However, if anyone in the BJP would try to do that to him, he would sue them, Swamy added.