Even before the land acquisition debate started, the government and the Opposition had already arrived at an understanding that the Land Acquisition Bill would be sent to a joint panel of lawmakers - from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha - for further scrutiny.
So, the four hours of debate on the issue was predictably used for politics, settling old scores and yes some good old political flourish.
The first speaker was Communist Party of India's Jayadevan who spoke in Malayalam. But the tone of the debate was set by Rahul Gandhi, who followed him. "We took 2 years to make the land acquisition but this government has murdered it," said Rahul.
The first murderous blow, argued Rahul, was the decision to take away the consent clause; second, the proposal to scrap social impact assessment of land acquisition. And third, the decision not to return the acquired land even if the project fails takes off after five years. These arguments have been made before and the responses are also known.
But Rahul's attack on the government was laced with sarcasm. "Rajnath ji, who used to sit here," he said, pointing to the front row seat on the Opposition side," had thumped his desk like this!"
The Congress number two, often criticized as someone who didn't quite connect with his audience, added some humor too. "I can see the minister smiling. He is now on the other side but he used to say the same things earlier that I am saying now." This forced a smile on the rural development minister Birender Singh who had switched sides just before the Haryana elections because of his differences with the former Haryana Chief Minister Birender Singh.
Rahul Gandhi's
suit-boot-ki-sarkar barb is now a familiar weapon in Congress' armoury. So he used it to describe the Modi sarkar as
"kisan virodhi" before wrapping up his speech. And the manner in which he delivered it, certainly, the attempt was to establish him as someone who can speak just as easily as those who are "naturally gifted".
The BJP didn't field a star speaker to take on Rahul. Instead, party MP from Ratlam, Dileep Singh Bhuria, made a counter-offensive that was more entertaining than substantial.
Arguing that the bill is beneficial to all sections, Bhuria took the now famous BJP's damadji (son-in-law) jibe. "Rahulji, sometime back you were referring to people wearing
suit and boot, were you referring to your brother in law? We don't wear suit boot here," said Bhuria amidst laughter from the ruling benches.
Member after senior member got up to object and point out that Bhuria wasn't speaking on the provisions of the bill but that didn't deter him. "If you are so interested in agriculture, let me know I can arrange for land in jhabua for you." Or sample this one. "Rahulji, don't get into this and keep blaming the bill. If more people commit suicide, you will be blamed."
Bhuria also took potshots at Rahul's charge that Modi government is pro-corporate. "You keep talking against corporates? But who created them in the last 60 years? What has happened? Have the big corporates stopped giving donations to you?" Bhuria had many of his party colleagues in splits.
But his Congress rival from Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, wasn't one to let go off things so easily.
"Pradhan Mantriji ne Paris dekha, Berlin dekha, London dekha, Japan dekha... Kab dekhenge hamare kisan ko!" (Prime Minister has seen Paris, Berlin, London and Japan but when will he see the plight of our farmers). Clearly, the idea was to take a jibe at PM Modi's foreign travels that have crossed more than a dozen trips in the past one year.
And finally when Birender Singh, NDA's rural development minister, turn came to respond to the debate, he used it to settle an old score: His rivalry with former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. "Sometime back, Sonia Gandhiji had called for a conclave of all chief ministers," he said, looking towards Sonia Gandhi who has a stoic expression on her face. "And she had made it clear that land with multiple crops cannot be acquired. Yet, more than 20,000 acres were acquired by the Haryana government. It's a big scam," he added.
Singh's remarks drew immediate protests from Hooda's son and Rohtak MP, Deepender Hooda. But the point was made and the remarks against the former chief minister were now a part of Parliament record. And so was the case with many other remarks and jibes made by the Lok Sabha members against their rivals.
(Sandeep Phukan is Deputy National Editor with NDTV)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.