Session ends: Both govt, Oppn have reasons to smile

It was the shortest budget session of Parliament in two decades that ended on Friday.

It was the shortest budget session of Parliament in two decades that ended on Friday.

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Spread over 23 sittings, it saw the government and the Opposition breaking the stalemate over setting up a joint parliamentary committee on the 2G spectrum scam, which was a spillover from the last year’s winter session.

At the end, the session, which was cut short due to the impending assembly polls in five states, made the government feel a lot better than when it had begun.

The Opposition too wasn't disappointed either with the outcome.

Though the CVC issue created a storm as the Supreme Court struck down the appointment of PJ Thomas. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to defuse tension in the two Houses by accepting moral responsibility for the decision.

A row over WikiLeaks’ disclosure of US diplomatic cables, which accused the Congress party of bribing opposition MPs for their support of a crucial 2008 trust vote after a nuclear deal with the US, was a turning point.

The PM utilised the opportunity to assert his position, employing poetry and wit to take wind out of the Oppostion's arguments against him.

But, after all the fire and brainstorm, the BJP came to the rescue of the government against a surprise Left’s bid to thwart a reformist bill to regulate pensions at the introductory stage.

As the curtains were drawn, parliamentary affairs minister PK Bansal could pat himself with the thought the government had done well to puncture the Opposition attacks.