PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and other MPs attend a tea meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Viral photos emerge.
The unofficial tea meeting took place in the Parliament complex after the Lok Sabha was adjourned on Friday, one sitting ahead of the scheduled end of the Budget session.
Arpit Pattnaik
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, attended a tea meeting organised by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament House on Friday.
After the Lower House was adjourned on Friday, the Speaker held an unofficial tea meeting in the Parliament complex. At the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi warmly greeted each other. This meeting took place just before the scheduled end of the Budget session.
The current session of Parliament was supposed to end on August 12, but Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period).
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was seated on a sofa with Speaker Om Birla next to him, and Rahul Gandhi was seated on a chair to the right of PM Modi.
Along with Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Chirag Paswan, and Piyush Goyal, opposition MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kanimozhi were seated in the same row as Gandhi. Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were also in attendance at the meeting.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday. The current session of the Parliament was scheduled to end on August 12, but Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period). Birla mentioned that the productivity of the House was above 130 percent.
During this session, the House passed several key pieces of legislation, including the Finance Bill, 2024, and the Appropriation Bill, 2024—both crucial for the Union budget. Additionally, the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2024, and the Indian Aircraft Bill, 2024, were among the four Bills passed.
