Bonhomie in Central Hall; Modi, Rahul exchange greetings

Soon leaders of various parties surrounded Rahul.

This is perhaps the first occasion when Modi exchanged greetings with Rahul after a bitterly fought Lok Sabha election.

Modi, as the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, had frequently attacked Rahul mocking him as “shehzada” and targeting the Gandhi family during campaigning.

Before the President's address began, Sonia was seen engaged in prolonged chat with Advani sitting next to her in the packed Central Hall.

A number of MPs, including Chandan Mitra, Babul Supriyo, Rajyavarhan Rathore and Manoj Tewari, who could not find a seat, kept standing during the President's 55-minute address.