It was all party and unanimity till a lone soldier from Samajwadi Party punctured the ruling party-opposition’s pre-winter session bonhomie with an aggressive message to the Prime Minister—‘‘rein in your ministers’’ and ‘‘don’t take our support (in parliament) for granted’’.Though SP’s Mohan Singh’s little aside on the Shankaracharya episode generated much mirth among the MPs at today’s all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, his unsolicited advice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — ‘‘it is government’s responsibility to ensure discipline in parliament and to rein in its ministers’’ — did just the opposite.Mohan was referring to the latest spat between Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan over the former’s comment about the latter harbouring ‘‘dakus’’ in his party.The SP leader even went to the extent of issuing a veiled threat that his party’s support should not be taken for granted, if the UPA government continuous to treat his party the way it does. Hinting at a tough stance in parliament to prove that the SP has ‘‘political compulsions’’. However, the ruling coalition got some relief from the fact the BJP leaders seemed keen to have a peaceful (that is debateful) House.‘‘Everyone has agreed unanimously that parliament should function smoothly and the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere,’’ leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani said, coming out of the two-hour long meeting.Even as BJP’s deputy leader in LS Vijay K. Maholtra echoed Advani’s ‘‘peaceful house’’ line, he did not forget to reiterate his earlier pronouncement that the Oppoistion would ‘‘aggressively, offensively and assertively’’ raise issues.‘‘The Opposition should get opportunity of putting across its views. We will raise issues. NDA leaders told the government to ensure that the situation is under control,’’ he added. That the Shankaracharya episode could dominate the session was clear from Shiv Sena MP Anant Geete’s comment that the Centre cannot wash its hands of the arrest by calling it a state government’s decision.Amidst the pulls and pressures of the political parties, Chatterjee maintained his good humour and hailed the meeting as ‘‘a success’’. ‘‘There was complete concurrence that the House should function smoothly. Lots of constructive suggestions came about increasing the time of the Question Hour/Zero Hour and the length of the session as well.’’Defending the government’s decision to have a short session, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, ‘‘This is not the first time.last winter session during the NDA’s time opened on December 2 and ended on 23.’’ But he said: ‘‘The extension of the session can be kept open and if need be (the Houses) can meet again after December 25. Provided there is work. What’s the point of having 20 days’ session with five days of work.’’
