The Lok Sabha witnessed a rare show of camaraderie between leader of Opposition L K Advani and leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday when the former lauded the latter for his role as the principal trouble-shooter of the government.
"Sometimes I think had Pranab not been there what would happen to this government. Whenever there is a crisis, he is there. 25 years ago he presented the budget and did so again yesterday as it was a crisis situation," Advani said in his opening remarks during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Mukherjee blushed, smiled and welcomed the statement with folded hands as the House applauded with thumping of desks.
Advani said he had known Mukherjee for years and had always appreciated his abilities. "Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee is one year senior to me in Parliament. I was first elected to Rajya Sabha in 1970 while he was elected the year before," the Bhartiya Janata Party leader said.
"Ever since I was introduced to Pranab, I have always appreciated his ability, his strength and his capability to shoulder responsibility."
Later in his speech, Advani said Parliament had witnessed a new low during the trust vote (of July 22, 2008).
"Pranab, I and the Speaker had never seen buying and selling of MPs. . .We will not be there tomorrow. The future generations will not forgive us," he said.