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Journalism of Courage
The opposition leaders were taken by surprise Tuesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked across the aisle to greet them, enquired about the health of some senior leaders, patted some others and even gave advice to one MP on the importance of being digital-friendly.
When the Lok Sabha was adjourned after the presentation of the Union Budget, Modi, who was thumping at the desk frequently at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech, walked up to Sitharaman, who was seated at the second row due to social distancing restrictions, to congratulate her. After greeting her, the Prime Minister turned towards the Opposition side and walked towards those benches. Seeing Modi moving to their side, MPs from YSRCP and TRS came out of their seats and stood at the centre of the House.
Greeting them, Modi went to Trinamool Congress MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Saugata Roy, who had been giving critical comments about the Budget proposal while Sitharaman was reading her speech. “Tabiyat theek hein?,” Modi was heard asking. When Roy greeted him with folded hands, Modi was seen patting on his shoulder.
Then he greeted DMK’s T R Baalu while walking towards Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Suresh Kodikkunnil. When he spotted National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah standing at the second row, he called out to him and asked: “Aapka health theek hein?” He shook hands with DMK’s A Raja and was seen talking to him briefly before reaching out to Chowdhury and patting Suresh.
According to Opposition leaders, although it was a custom for the Prime Minister or the top leaders of the government to walk to the opposition benches at least on the first and last day of the session, this was not seen in the last two years.
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