Sidelights

8226; The Parliament members thumped their desks in appreciation as Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat announced that he would read out only the first and last paragraphs of the Hindi translation of the 16-page Presidential address. Members were left guessing whether Shekhawat8217;s action was aimed at preventing a repeat of last year8217;s address, when he failed to hold himself after developing cramps in his legs, or avoiding the embarrassment of reading out critical references to his own saffron family.

8226; The Presidential address passed off without any trouble, but for a brief interruption by a Samajwadi Party member, Shafiq-ur-Rehman Barq. As President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam referred to the Government8217;s commitment to make the minorities feel secure, he exclaimed loudly: 8216;8216;Minorities are not secure.8217;8217; The President went on unaffected, while Barq kept quiet thereafter, with no one else coming forward to back him.

8226; BJP members on the other hand, sat grim-faced but did not create a scene as the President read out portions containing a veiled criticism of the party over a variety of issues ranging from school syllabi and institutional autonomy, to POTA and Gujarat.

8226; The joint sitting left many a leader in uncomfortable company. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh found himself flanked by Prime Minister Manmohan singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani got separated as former PM Chandra Shekhar sat between them. Jayaprada, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha managed to stick together.

8226; For once, members from Tamil Nadu seemed united. No, it was not over Cauvery. As the President announced that Tamil will be declared a classical language, all MPs from the state cutting across party lines thumped their desks.