New Delhi, May 7: Sonia Gandhi surprised Sushma Swaraj with a hug at Parliament’s Central Hall this morning soon after the BJP had stalled the Houses again demanding the head of two controversy-hit ministers.

BJP sources said their party was unlikely to return the gesture by smoothing the passage of key bills unless Pawan Bansal and Ashwani Kumar were sacked first.

Sushma was walking towards her chamber with L.K. Advani when Sonia spotted her. Onlookers said the Congress president took quick steps towards Sushma, tapped her on the shoulder and put an arm round her.

The leader of the Lok Sabha Opposition seemed taken aback although by now she is used to Sonia holding her hand during conversations.

Sushma had earlier said she felt “let down” last week when Sonia allegedly egged her MPs on to disrupt the Opposition leader’s House speech before the Finance Bill was passed. Sushma had then declared the BJP would not attend a single meeting called by parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath or Speaker Meira Kumar in protest.

BJP sources conjectured that Sonia, intent on seeing the food security bill passed this session, had decided to make up with Sushma.

“They exchanged pleasantries. A serious conversation or a deal-breaker was not possible in a place where they were being watched by so many eyes,” a Sushma aide said.

BJP sources said Sonia’s Track II diplomacy was unlikely to yield instant results. “It’s a political fight at the fag end of a discredited government’s tenure. The BJP collectively thinks that we should not bail the government out unless the two ministers are dumped,” a BJP leader said.

Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assigned agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to work on the BJP and the Left. Pawar has made it clear the bill will not be passed without a full-fledged discussion.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar has said that unless Bansal and Kumar quit, his party would not allow a discussion on pending bills.