The Rajya Sabha bid an emotional farewell to Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday with leaders from the Opposition and Treasury Benches requesting him to continue to guide Parliament as one of the most experienced politicians of the country.
Mr. Naidu’s term will end on August 10 and Parliament has elected Jagdeep Dhankhar to succeed him. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, leaders of various parties and senior MPs conveyed their best wishes to Mr. Naidu. Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien’s reference to the tragic death of Mr. Naidu’s mother brought the Vice-President to tears.
Mr. Naidu, in his reply, appealed to the members to maintain decorum in the House adding that “we are not enemies” but rivals who should work to outshine each other and not run down each other. Recalling the day when the BJP parliamentary board in 2017 decided to nominate him as the Vice-President, Mr. Naidu said, “PM told me in parliamentary board meeting that I was being selected, I was in tears, I didn’t ask for it. There were tears not because of shirking of responsibility but because I had to leave the party.”
He said he bore no ill will against anyone and gave an opportunity to all sides of the House. “I did my best to maintain the House. People want the House to discuss and debate but not disrupt. People say do not pass the Bill in din. Do not create din and do not pass the Bill in din. The respect is declining everywhere as value systems are declining, try to do your bit, see to it that the democratic principles are followed,” he said.
Media’s ‘weakness’
He added that media had a weakness and they did not report if the members spoke constructively. “If you speak something obstructively, do something unusual...it is getting coverage, it is a weakness of the media and media should get out of it at the earliest,” he said.
He said language was an issue dear to him, and several constitutional heads, including the Chief Justice of India, had spoken in the same vein for respecting the mother tongue. “Primacy should be given to mother tongue. Be it a school, college or university, the administration should be carried in respective State official languages. Before I leave [as Rajya Sabha Chairman], there has to be a permanent scheme, I will come to sign the file on August 10 whether the House is in session or not. I would like to see arguments in courts in respective Indian languages and judgments are also delivered the same way, it will take time, we should move in the direction,” Mr. Naidu said as Mr. Modi listened in rapt attention.
‘Steadfastness in ideology’
Earlier, Mr. Modi said the Vice-President’s journey from a political worker to the president of his party was a reflection of his indomitable steadfastness in ideology and tenacity. “If we have feelings for the country, art of putting forward our views, faith in linguistic diversity then language and region never become obstacles for us and you have proved this,” Mr. Modi said. He added that one of the admirable things about Mr. Naidu was his passion towards Indian languages. “This was reflected in how he presided over the House. He contributed to increased productivity of the Rajya Sabha,” he said.
Addressing an event at the Parliament House complex organised by Members of Parliament to bid farewell to Mr. Naidu, the Prime Minister said as far as he knew outgoing Vice President, his farewell is not possible as people will keep calling him for something or the other.
He said a collection of good words was in order to carry forward the legacy of Mr. Naidu who has all along propagated the use of the mother tongue in the Upper House and outside.
Mr. Modi said Mr. Naidu has the unique distinction of holding both the Urban Development and Rural Development portfolios in the central government, and added that perhaps Mr. Naidu is the only person who was a member of Rajya Sabha to become its chairperson.
Mr. Kharge congratulated Mr. Naidu for functioning as the Chairman even under pressure. Citing Mr. Naidu’s efforts to bring consensus on the Women’s Reservation Bill, Mr. Kharge asked the Centre to complete the work which the Rajya Sabha Chairman had left unfinished. “You have a different ideology and my ideology is known. I may have some complaints. But this is not the time to make complaints, as you performed your role under difficult circumstances and under pressure, for which I thank you and appreciate you,” Mr. Kharge said.
Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said Mr. Naidu’s decision as a Chairman had sometimes not only mystified the Opposition but also the ruling party. “Although you have come from a political party, as president of a political party, you have not allowed that background to influence any decisions you took. Some of your decisions baffled the Treasury Benches that they came to me to ask me whether I have any inside knowledge of why you took certain decisions...you treated all of us equally,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Never aspired to be President, won't become a dissident, says Naidu
Outgoing Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said he never aspired to be the President and will not turn into a "dissident", but will continue to remain connected with people and interact with them.
"The normal feeling about politicians...Respect is declining everywhere and this is because the value systems are declining. Keep that in mind and try to do your bit," he said advising parliamentarians to follow high standards.
Talking about speculation that he aspired to become the President, Mr. Naidu made it clear, "I am not of that type, people now often talk - either president, otherwise dissident or a resident. I am not going to do all these three." "I never aspired to be the president, will never become a dissident and will never be confined to the residence. I would be moving around, going around, meeting you all, greeting you all and talking to you on larger issues.
"I would not get into politics. We are all working on our way, we are not enemies, we are rivals," Mr. Naidu said.
Mr. Naidu, in his around 10-minute speech, said Rajya Sabha has "greater responsibilities" being the upper house.
"People want the house to discuss, debate and decide - 3D's. They do not want the other D, that is disruption," said Naidu, who is known for his witty and rhyming comments since his days in the BJP.
"My wish is parliament functions well. There are many members who are good speakers and when the opportunity comes, I see new members coming prepared ''Now the students, rural folks and people from other segments are watching parliament proceedings.
"That is why sometimes, I have to intervene and have to be strict and also have to take not a very happy decision of naming some people. Otherwise, I have no enjoyment to take such extreme actions," he said.
Mr. Naidu said he tried his best to maintain the dignity of the house and accommodate all sides "I might not have given enough time as they wanted, but each one of you has been given time, whether it is Zero Hour, special mention, question hour or discussion and debate on the bills," he added.
Members laud role of Venkaiah Naidu
Speaking during Mr. Naidu's farewell, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh hailed his journey from a village in Andhra Pradesh to the second highest post of the country.
Mr. Naidu had started his struggle for change in his student life.
Mr. Singh also said he learned from him about the benefits of being punctual and was always required to come prepared with homework for the meetings of the consultative committee "It would have been very difficult to carry out my responsibilities as Deputy Chairman without your guidance support advice and encouragement...The Chairman supported me at all critical moments and it was a privilege to work with you," said Singh.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said during Naidu's tenure, important decisions were taken and crucial bills were passed ranging from welfare of the poor, social security, ease of doing business, national unity, women's security, youth and sports and transgender bill.
Mr. Naidu has good managerial skills to run the house and during his tenure in 2020, Rajya Sabha's productivity was highest at 82.27 per cent.
Mr. Goyal said Mr. Naidu always encouraged the new members in the house. He delivered his maiden speech after his encouragement in the house over the Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2010, which was introduced by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
(With inputs from PTI)
