House of disruptions: Deadlock continues as Rajya Sabha adjourned

The Rajya Sabha, which has transacted little business in the second half of the Budget session, saw rare bonhomie among the Members of Parliament on Thursday. Telugu Desam Party and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members withdrew their protests briefly for the government to get the Payment of Gratuity Bill passed without discussion. However, as soon as the Bill was passed, MPs were all in the Well of the House to disrupt the proceedings. “People are asking why I was adjourning the House. I have been adjourning because I don't want these ugly scenes to be seen by the people,” said Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu as he adjourned the House till Friday.

 
Shooting in the dark
 
If nothing else, the apparatchiks of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) pride themselves for their knowledge of history. The editorial in the latest edition of People's Democracy — the party's mouthpiece — lauds the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alliance for winning the Gorakphur and Phulpur by-elections. “Many people have talked about the 1993 assembly election as the first time they cooperated. But actually, there was no pre-poll alliance at that time,” it claims, and says it was only after the election that the two parties came together to form a government. However, the Election Commission records show that the SP contested 256 seats and won 109, while the BSP contested 164 and won 67 seats. Neither of the two parties fielded candidates against the other's. They formed the government with the outside support of the Congress and the Janata Dal. It would seem the mandarins of AK Gopalan Bhavan, the CPI (M) party headquarters in New Delhi, are confused about more than just their future political-tactical line.

 

Starry servings
 
Foreign delegates were taken with the culinary offerings at a recent dinner hosted by a top IT company. The fare included some filmi twist to classic recipes, and two dishes — Nargis Kofta and Dabangg Paneer — caught the fancy of the visitors the most. Nargis Kofta stole the show as the guests polished it off before everything else. “Nargis Kofta was a mildly spicy dish. People were curious about the kofta since it carried the name of the legendary actress, Nargis,” said one of the organisers.