INDIA bloc boycotts LS Speaker's tea party; Kharge, Sonia attend RS chairman's get-together

NEW DELHI: The Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party boycotted the customary tea party hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday after the House was adjourned sine die.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi attended the traditional get-together though, sources said.

In the Rajya Sabha, opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi, attended the tea party hosted by Chairman C P Radhakrishnan.

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other senior leaders and ministers were present at the tea party in the Lok Sabha Speaker's chamber.

A senior Congress leader stated that leaders from the Congress, SP, TMC, and various other INDIA bloc parties did not participate in the event.

A tea party is hosted by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman in their chambers after the proceedings of the two Houses are adjourned sine die.