Will Modi’s Warm Squeeze Of Rahul’s Hands Thaw Ice?

In a gesture to reach out to the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi clasped and squeezed Rahul Gandhi's hands in the central hall of the Parliament.

The gesture might bring a touch of friendliness in Modi's icy relations with the Gandhis, who did not make a phone call to the BJP leader after his victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Modi's gesture came soon after the Congress president Sonia Gandhi acknowledged the government for its commitment to ‘zero tolerance’ to violence against women and pledge to pass the women's reservation Bill by thumping her desk.

Last week, too, Modi and Sonia had come face to face on the first day of the new Lok Sabha and the Congress chief congratulated Modi.

The three-month long election campaign had seen Modi calling Rahul ‘shehzada' and he referred to the UPA government as ‘maa-bete ki sarkar.' Rahul, too, had attacked Modi over snoopgate and ‘toffee' model of development.