Even as the Government and the Congress are locked in an acrimonious duel in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday morning called up Congress president Sonia Gandhi to wish her on her 69th birthday.
“I called up Sonia in the morning and wished her on her birthday,” Naidu told lok Sabha after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reminded him that it was Gandhi’s birthday. The Speaker’s reminder came when Naidu wished BJP member from Maharashtra Poonam Mahajan on her birthday while replying to a question raised by her, amid continuous slogan-shouting by the Congress MPs alleging politics of vendetta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House at that time. Modi also greeted Gandhi on her birthday and wished her a long life and good health.
Naidu’s statement on the Congress leader’s birthday somewhat briefly soothed the frayed political tempers in the lok Sabha, albeit for a very short time.