Sartorial splendour in the 17th Lok Sabha

Sartorial splendour in the 17th Lok Sabha

The Madame 'X' factor it was which set hearts aflutter in Parliament in recent times, each time the sartorially splendiferous Rekha deigned to grace the Rajya Sabha with her presence. MPs, male or female, began dressing to the nines, in the hope of catching her eye as she sashayed through the corridors of Parliament.

FPJ BureauUpdated: Wednesday, June 19, 2019, 09:04 AM IST
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Mumbai: The Madame 'X' factor it was which set hearts aflutter in Parliament in recent times, each time the sartorially splendiferous Rekha deigned to grace the Rajya Sabha with her presence. MPs, male or female, began dressing to the nines, in the hope of catching her eye as she sashayed through the corridors of Parliament. Happily, in the first Parliament session of the 17th Lok Sabha, one can see Rekha’s legacy is thriving. Twitter user, Parliament Fashion Alert, summed it up thus: “In a world divided between Ariel and Ursula, they rise, polarise and revolutionalise. Array of textiles on display, some from the loom, some from the machine. Earlier from today. #LokSabha #SansadWatch #Parliament.”

The two Gandhi sisters-in-law made their appearance in 'shuddha suti' (pure cotton) saris. While Sonia wore a maroon handloom print, Maneka wore a plain fuchsia with an ochre border. Their respective sons wore the eternally-pleasing white -- Rahul was in a plain white churidar kurta and his cousin Varun sported a dark grey-blue Nehru jacket, reminiscent of his great grandfather. And Radhe, Radhe! The Dream Girl, now a glamorous grandmother and the MP from Mathura, looked like she had turned back the clock. Hema Malini wore a peach-coloured pattu sari to her swearing-in. “Hehe, I make obsequiousness to the gods palatable by wearing this peachy pattu," tweeted Parliament Fashion Alert.

MP Lorho Pfoze of Manipur proudly flaunted his state's traditional outfit, wearing a jacket with needle-work embroidery featuring natural being motifs. For those craving the royalty quotient, Mala Rajya Laxmi provided the whole six yards of it in a pink georgette sari with a floral print. Her partner in pink was Kavita Malothu from Telangana, who wore a baby pink sari with a rather elaborate 'banjara' border. However, another MP from Telangana, Arvind Dharmapuri, stayed steadfastly true to khadi, wearing a green kurta with the obligatory saffron stole. Smriti Irani sported a heavy patola sari, while Sunita Duggal from Sirsa, Haryana, looked striking in a lavender sari with beige floral print.

TAILPIECE RELIGION IN OATH

For some, oath taking in Lok Sabha on Monday and Tuesday smacked more of religious sloganeering than a devout undertaking to serve the constitution and the nation. The oath asks an MP to swear in the name of God but slogan shouting is not part of it. ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ were heard intermittently during the day and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief responded with his 'secular rebuttal' — ‘Jai Bhim’, ‘Takbeer Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Jai Hind.’ As soon as he ended the oath with the three chants, a few MPs yelled ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. Those from TMC retaliated with chants of ‘Jai Durga’ and ‘Jai Hind’.

‘Mandir wahin banayenge’, a reference to the demand for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, was raised after Unnao BJP leader Sakshi Maharaj’s swearing-in. Maharaj took oath in Sanskrit and concluded with ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans. BJP Mathura MP Hema Malini concluded her oath with 'Radhey, Radhey' and a phrase from a shloka in praise of Lord Krishna. Aam Aadmi Party's lone MP Bhagwant Mann ended his oath with the slogan 'Inqalab Zindabad'.

Sonia Gandhi took her oath in Hindi.

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