The 15th Lok Sabha was the lowest productive, passed the least number of bills and was disrupted for maximum time compared to all previous Lok Sabhas. Some of the most acrimonious debates were fought and some shameful acts were also witnessed by this Lok Sabha.
However, on the last day of the Lok Sabha, 21st February 2014, the atmosphere inside the parliament was very unusual. For a change, all the members of Parliament were behaving at their best. There were compliments flowing around from everyone to everyone around crossing all the party barriers.
Dr. Manmohan Singh’s wife was in the visitor’s gallery to see her husband occupy the prime spot of Prime minister for one last time. No one had imagined that Manmohan Singh would be the prime minister two consecutive terms lasting 10 years. Just as in a cricket match, some wrong decisions sometimes tilt the decision one way or other, but the history only remembers the final result of the match forgetting the blunders in umpiring decisions. Similarly, Manmohan Singh’s tenure was much embroiled in controversies of all kinds including corruption, non-governance and policy paralysis. But history will always remember him as the only non-Nehru Gandhi family member from the Congress party to be the Prime Minister for 10 full years. In the current scenario and predictions for immediate future, this record may well remain intact for at least a quarter century.
There was very refreshing camaraderie visible between Kamal Nath, Sushma Swaraj and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who specifically praised one another forgetting all their ideological differences. There were smiles on every member’s faces as they went about praising and mentioning one another’s positive contribution during the 15th Lok Sabha.
But the real honor came for LK Advani, when everyone referred to him as the ‘Father of the House’ given that he was the most senior among them all. Advani could not control his emotions and was seen wiping his tears many times. He has been the Member of Parliament since 1971, which is well over four decades. He has seen the Members of the old era give way to the new ones during these forty years. He must have been highly nostalgic to see that none of those who were around him in 1971 were around today, many of them already passed away. And the future is always uncertain. He was complimented by even his staunch opponents like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Communist leaders and such. He had spent half his lifetime inside the Parliament. Today, he desired to be in a better position, but destiny probably had a different opinion. He had to be content throughout his active career as a strong number 2 and now that he had a chance to be the number 1, he is declared a mentor, guide and a veteran by his party making way for the younger blood.
This also demonstrated that the Members of Parliament still have humanity left inside them and they too have emotions. In the current scenario, the common man gets to know about the Members of Parliament only for wrong reasons. Therefore, this comes as refreshing news.
The Members of 15th Lok Sabha had realized that this was the last time they were sitting together. After three months, when the 16th Lok Sabha starts, some of them would not be there. Some new faces would appear on the scene. The mood was that of final year students in a farewell party. Therefore, it was but natural that they behaved at their best forgetting their differences and seeing only the positive sides of others.
The parliament, which had witnessed all unruly scenes all through the last five years, therefore, turned emotional….!
