15th Lok Sabha ends on harmonious note

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expresses hope that 'a new sense of consensus' will emerge to take the country to 'new pathways'

The 15th Lok Sabha, seen as the worst-ever as it saw many unprecedented low moments, came to an end today on an harmonious note with leaders from ruling and opposition sides showering praise at each other amid calls for introspection of how the House functioned.

While bringing down curtains on the extended Winter Session, leaders emphasised that the bitterness witnessed during the proceedings was due to the members' desire to raise issues of "public" and "national" interest and it should be forgotten as there was nothing personal in that.

The outgoing Lok Sabha saw many tumultuous occasions and recorded unprecedented low moments. In 2012, the entire Winter Session was virtually washed out when the opposition pressed for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe 2G spectrum scam.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister and Leader of the Lok Sabha Sushilkumar Shinde, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and some other leaders had good words about each other.

The Prime Minister, who made his farewell speech, noted that the House had the capacity to rise above partisan politics to enact crucial laws. In this context, he referred to the passage of the Telangana bill.

He hoped that "birth of a new atmosphere of hope" will take place to take the country "out of this strife and tensionful atmosphere".

He expressed hope that "a new sense of consensus" will emerge to take the country to "new pathways".

At the same time, he highlighted some optimism when he said that the passage of the Telangana bill showed that the country can take "difficult" decisions "without worrying about pros and cons of things that do not matter".

Singh, who has been the Prime Minister for the last 10 years, has declared that he will not opt for a third term.

Apparently referring to the upcoming general elections, he said people will have an opportunity to judge on "performance, weaknesses and achievements" of the government.

He praised the role of the Leader of the Opposition.

Shinde played a statesman as he showered praise on the Opposition and particularly chose Swaraj to hail her party's support to get the crucial Telangana bill passed, even though initially he was not sure about the main opposition's backing.