Switching houses

Moments before the Rajya Sabha began proceedings in the Justice Soumitra Sen impeachment,senior BJP leader L K Advani.

Moments before the Rajya Sabha began proceedings in the Justice Soumitra Sen impeachment,senior BJP leader L K Advani,Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and a number of other BJP leaders from the Lok Sabha entered the visitors gallery of the Rajya Sabha to watch the proceedings. They were soon joined by Congress MPs such as Sandeep Dikshit,Ravneet Singh Bittu and Mohd Azharuddin. However,they had to soon leave to attend proceedings in the Lok Sabha where Home Minister P Chidambaram had begun replying to the discussion on Anna Hazares arrest.

No Barriers Left

Having made common cause on the Anna Hazare issue,BJP and Left leaders seem to have found it mutually beneficial. Their new-found bonding is in full display in the Lok Sabha. CPIM leader Basudeb Acharia and CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta can be often seen holding discussions with BJP leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj the moment the House is adjourned over a contentious issue. Dasgupta is in fact seen seated with BJP leaders conferring with them on the issues at hand. It seems that having made their entry to Swarajs room in Parliament earlier in the week,there are no barriers left for the Left.

Allied forces

Sushwa Swarajs decision to invite RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to her chamber in Parliament House for an impromptu meeting of Opposition leaders earlier this week had left BJP-ally JDU slightly upset. The party is learnt to have argued that Lalu had consistently sided with the government and therefore should not be seen to be in the Opposition camp. They therefore had reasons to feel vindicated on Wednesday when Lalu took a position similar to that of the government during the discussions on Anna Hazares arrest in the Lok Sabha.

Charming Ways

Months after then Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan called Rahul Gandhi Amul Baby,CPM MP Brinda Karat added another term to describe the young Congress general secretary. During discussions in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday,she called him Prince Charming. It was a huge hit in the Opposition ranks as even senior BJP leader L K Advani was heard using this term repeatedly while interacting with reporters outside the Central Hall of Parliament.

Tailpiece

The Armed Forces have their own reason to feel disappointed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They are learnt to be upset with the fact that the Prime Minister did not adequately stress on the contribution of the Armed Forces in his Independence Day speech.