They would observe party lines in parliament Wednesday when the winter session opens, but that was a far away thought as MPs gathered Tuesday for a day of fun, table tennis, shooting, badminton and, yes, lots of sportsmanship.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad gathered 24 MPs of all parties and all ages at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here as part of a strategy to improve relations -- and hopefully avoid too many ugly scenes when parliament opens Wednesday.
 

Home Minister Shivraj Patil was there as were hotelier Lalit Suri, steel magnate Naveen Jindal, Gwalior ex-royal Jyotiraditya Scindia and tribal leader Jual Oram.

They played badminton, table tennis and tried their hand at shooting. And the smartest of them even won trophies and flowers.

"MPs are the most harassed people. They are always on tenterhooks, whether they are in session or otherwise," Azad said, explaining the reason behind the event.

Most MPs agreed enthusiastically.

"The very fact that we have come here, cutting across the party lines, to take part in these games is a nice feeling. It's a great step," said Scindia, who won the second prize in shooting.

Those who attempted the sport would also learn a lesson on "patience, accuracy and concentration", essential for an MP during legislative business, the Congress MP felt.

Jai Panda of the Biju Janata Dal believed that such occasions would help prevent an extreme polarisation of political parties, an unhealthy trend in parliament.

"With air travel facilities, every MP has a tendency to return to his hometown every weekend, giving him less time for socialising," Panda pointed out, adding that MPs were missing out on the bonding that earlier generations of parliamentarians had.

Panda and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachauri defeated the combine of Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) R. Chandrasekhar Reddy and Congress' Sharat Joshi to lift the table tennis trophy.

Minister of State for Programme Implementation Oscar Fernandes and  Rajya Sabha member V. Narayan Swamy won the badminton trophy.

Congress' young MP Naveen Jindal won the highest score in air rifle shooting, not very surprising since he's a professional at the sport, leaving Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Shukla to quip, "Professional shooters should be barred!"

Congress' Prabha Thakur, who also won a trophy for her excellent performance in the shooting range, was a little disappointed when Azad announced that her performance was a surprise. "Everyone else got price! Why was mine a surprise," she cribbed.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee distributed the trophies.

It could well get to be a weekly affair. According to the parliamentary affairs ministry, 25 sports, including cricket, have been identified and a group of 24 MPs would be trying their luck at these every weekend.

However, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was conspicuous by its absence, with only Oram representing the party at the 'sports day'.

Some of the glamour quotient were missing too, namely Congress' young MPs, Rahul Gandhi and Sachin Pilot.

--Indo-Asian News Service