New Delhi, April 23: For a committed pro, comrade P. Rajeeve may have just pulled off the smoothest potential job hop - member of Parliament to MP.

"MP", as in model for a painter.

The CPM veteran, who ended his six-year term in the Rajya Sabha this Tuesday, was made to sit in Parliament's Central Hall - not unwillingly, of course - by painter Jogen Chowdhury.

The result was a sketch of the Left politician: a farewell gift that blurred political rivalries.

Chowdhury's party, the Trinamul Congress, and the CPM are bitter rivals in Bengal.

The Trinamul MP wasn't the only one who praised Rajeeve at the farewell he was given in the House today.

While BJP leader Arun Jaitley spoke of Rajeeve's sincerity, the Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad came up with a cheeky request: an exchange of iPads.

So what prompted the cascade of compliments? Rajeeve's diligence, for one. And his sincerity in sticking to parliamentary propriety.

As a member, Rajeeve always pointed to rules, often putting the government on the back foot on issues, whether it was adoption of a motion for discussion or moving a bill. His party has few MPs in the House, but Rajeeve would always insist on the passage of a bill through division.

Here is one example that shows Rajeeve was a stickler for norms.

In the ongoing budget session, when the government placed two contentious bills in the Rajya Sabha, Rajeeve insisted that they be sent to a select House committee in keeping with norms. The bills were later passed.

Today, Trinamul leader Derek O'Brien stood up to wish Rajeeve well - "by choice and not by compulsion". P. Rajeeve, O'Brien said, stands for "Parliamentary Rajeeve".

Like fellow party MP Chowdhury, O'Brien too had set aside political differences to praise a man known for his sincerity.

The painter's message on the sketch he drew said it all: "With best wishes to Rajeeve and congratulations for most successful 6 years innings in Rajya Sabha."

If Chowdhury used the tools of his trade to honour Rajeeve, Sachin Tendulkar didn't. The cricketer gifted Rajeeve a signed copy of his autobiography.

In August last year, Rajeeve had raised the issue of celebrity members remaining absent from the House. He had cited the example of Tendulkar and actress Rekha who were absent for about 40 days.

But such matters were forgotten as members, cutting across parties, praised Rajeeve and wished both him and a fellow Kerala MP, CPI member M.P. Achuthan, who also completed his tenure this week.

Jaitley said Rajeeve was "industrious in digging out procedure and rules of debates in the House and kept the ruling benches on their toes" while others appealed to new CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury to re-nominate Rajeeve.

Naresh Gujral of the Akali Dal even appealed to the government to nominate Rajeeve if the CPM didn't.

Azad said Rajeeve was perhaps the only member to use an iPad inside the House. "I would request him to exchange that iPad with me. I will give him a fresh laptop, so that I don't have to go through various books to find out which rule fits in where," the Congress veteran said.

Parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said Rajeeve was "very articulate". In a lighter vein, he wondered how such an articulate and intelligent person could be in the communist party.

That's why he is in the CPM, Yechury shot back.