Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his fiercest opponent Rahul Gandhi shook hands in the newly elected Lok Sabha today after the Speaker’s election, which was won by the ruling BJP-led NDA’s nominee, Om Birla, by voice vote. This was a rare show of goodwill.
Shaking hands, Modi, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama topped with a grey vest, and Rahul, who had taken off his white T-shirt, both smiled.
Together with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kirren Rijiju, the two politicians welcomed and escorted newly elected Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the chair within the Lok Sabha chamber.
The opposition, which had nominated Congress MP K Suresh for speaker, decided without pressing for a vote on the proposal, and pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Birla elected to the office.
Images of Modi and Rahul shaking hands became viral during their fiercely competitive parliamentary election campaign, during which they exchanged nearly uncensored barbs.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Rajiv Gandhi, who led the opposition from 1989 to 1990, and mother, Sonia Gandhi, who held the role from 1999 to 2004, Rahul Gandhi is expected to lead the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
