Malayalam learning, Ethiopia visit: Inside PM Modi, Priyanka Gandhis friendly chai pe charcha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had a friendly conversation which was also seen in a video from the meeting.

Even as most of the Winter Session of Parliament was marked by frictions between the government and the Opposition on several issues, it ended on a cordial note, with MPs across party lines gathering for the customary tea meeting hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday.

During this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had a friendly conversation which was also seen in some visuals from the meeting. Gandhi was sitting across from PM Modi, next to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Priyanka Gandhi on Malayalam learning Priyanka Gandhi, who represents the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, told PM Modi that she is learning Malayalam so it helps her while conversing with her constituents, reported news agency PTI, quoting its sources.

PM Modis recent three-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East also came up during the chat.

Priyanka Gandhi asked PM Modi about his visit there, and he told her that Ethiopia is quite different from how people in India perceive it, progressing very well socially and economically, reported PTI.

PMs remark sparks laughter in the room PM Modi left the MPs in splits with his remark on there being just 15 sittings during the Winter Session.

When Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav said in the meeting that the Parliament session was one of the shortest, PM Modi jokingly replied that it was good for his throat as he didn’t have to shout for too many days.

The quip reportedly sparked laughter in the room.

Several other MPs, including NCPs Supriya Sule, DMKs A Raja, Union ministers Ram Mohan Naidu (TDP) and Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JDU) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-RVP), were also present in the meeting.

A customary tea meeting is organised at the end of every Parliament session. “After the conclusion of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, a pleasant conversation took place with the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and esteemed leaders of all parties,” Birla said in a post on X.

Notably, the Opposition had boycotted this meet after the budget session of Parliament concluded earlier this year.

The Winter Session of Parliament concluded on Friday after 19 days and sittings that lasted a cumulative duration of 92 hours and 25 minutes, marking 111 per cent productivity.

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