No pretence of bonhomie, session kicks off amid hostility

The Prime Minister, on his part, did not make any pretence of bonhomie. He took the oath, and took his seat. Given a go by was decades-old custom of a round of the opposition benches with folded hands and pleasantries. Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, took his cue. Gaurav Gogoi and Kalyan Banerjee pointed out “the old conventions are being broken”. Not long ago, Day 1 used to be a solemn occasion of bipartisanship, littered with light moments and comments, fist bumping and reminiscing. This time, there were few handshakes.