Members say goodbye to 13th Lok Sabha

The chattering of birds as dusk fell over the Parliament House rivalled the low murmur of MPs as Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh wound up his speech on the crisis that unorganised labour, farmers and the youth were facing. It was as if a dying House was postponing its moment of reckoning.

The clock crept past 6 pm, the time the House was scheduled to have been adjourned. Speaker Manohar Joshi, most reluctantly, asked Singh to finish his speech.

"This is my last speech. I hope and pray that just as we are atal on this side of the House, you are atal on your side," said Singh amid guffaws.

Interruptions from the Congress benches were few, and mostly designed to let Singh stretch out his speech.

As Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma sought his share of time to speak on the subject, outside, the birds fell silent. Inside, every member was thinking of the few minutes left for the 13th Lok Sabha to end.

The Speaker congratulated members for having spent the best of times and the worst of times in the 13th Lok Sabha.

As members of this House, he said, Parliament celebrated the dawn of a new millennium, its 200th session, and the 50th anniversary of the Constitution and India becoming a republic.

During its duration, the House passed 14 Constitution amendment Bills, he said, testifying to the dynamism and vibrancy of India's democracy.

But it was this House, he said, that had also witnessed an attack by terrorists, the tragic demise of its young Speaker GMC Balayogi and the sacrifice of security staff in defending the House.

While he was speaking, members wished their neighbours goodbye silently, seeing their benchmates with new eyes. Different members said their goodbyes differently. Some, like MP from Dhanbad, Rita Verma, caught a short snooze.

Others, like George Fernandes crept into the House midway through the Speaker's speech, and sat down on the last bench, surveying a view of the House they had not seen before.

One MP carefully took out from its protective plastic wrapper, a commemorative calendar, dusting it as if it was a precious piece of equipment.

The rendition of Vande Mataram marked the end of the 13th Lok Sabha. There was a hoot of Jai Sri Ram from the treasury benches.

Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi left to meet the Speaker without exchanging pleasantries with the Prime Minister. This was not unexpected.

Earlier in the morning, Vajpayee had showered praises on two colleagues, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, and criticised the Congress.

Addressing a NDA MPs'meeting, Vajpayee said his government had performed well and would get a renewed mandate from people. Sounding confident, the Prime Minister said the government's performance had satisfied all sections of society.

Fernandes was particularly appreciated for his role as the NDA convener in holding together the coalition.

"We have proved that the coalition government can work efficiently," Vajpayee said, claiming credit for running the government smoothly despite heading the coalition of disparate political groups.

On Fernandes' exoneration by the Tehelka probe panel,Vajpayee said Fernandes had come out as pure as gold after his four year of trial.

Vajpayee also praised Jaswant Singh for managing the economy in such a manner as to put across the feel-good factor to all.

The 13th Lok Sabha finally ended when the Prime Minister went to meet President APJ Abdul Kalam to ask him to proclaim the dissolution of the House. The proclamation is expected tomorrow.