For once, party lines vanished and veterans gave lessons in parliamentary behaviour to newcomers in the state legislature.
There was no backbiting, no allegations against each other and no attempts to run down the rivals. The veterans gave guidelines to the first time MLA about the importance of legislature, the rules that guide the house and, most importantly, their behaviour.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, underlined the need for time management.
“You are now in active politics and if you want to have a long inning, you need to study time management so that you can divide your time between your family, your constituency and your party. My success as a politician lies in my ability to manage my time and do justice to the family, constituency and party. Secondly, you should learn to choose the right projects for your constituency and concentrate on it and thirdly, you should know the rules of the house and keep your speeches focused,” she advised.
Ms Swaraj asked the newly elected MLAs to keep their images clean and their behaviour cordial.
Rajya Sabha MP Prof Ram Gopal Yadav, meanwhile, mounted a veiled attack on Team Anna and said that the biggest challenge before parliamentary democracy were the charges being levelled against its members by people of questionable honesty. He said that elected representatives should not hesitate to respond to such charges because the attacks were aimed at undermining the very credibility of Indian democracy.
Mr Yadav asked the legislators to be careful about their speech and behaviour. “If you want to return to the assembly, be particular about your behaviour. Anyone who misuses his authority will never be sent back because people take note of your behaviour. Mr Pramod Tiwari, leader of the Congress legislature party and a MLA for the ninth term, explained to the MLAs how to use the Zero hour to their advantage in order to raise issues of immediate public interest of their respective constituencies.