New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Tuesday met leaders of various political parties and sought their support and cooperation in the smooth functioning of the Rajya Sabha and in strengthening parliamentary democracy.
During his first formal interaction with the leaders in Parliament complex, Radhakrishnan, who is also the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, discussed with them ways for ensuring the effective functioning of the Upper House.
He stressed that dialogue and discussion are the basic tenets of parliamentary democracy and urged members to make full use of available instruments to raise issues of public importance.
Sources said the Rajya Sabha chairman hoped that the upcoming session of Parliament would be smooth and not a washout unlike the last Monsoon session. Welcoming the 29 floor leaders, Radhakrishnan emphasized the importance of ensuring that the Rajya Sabha functions with the dignity, discipline, and decorum it deserves.
He said the Constitution of India along with the rules book of Rajya Sabha determined the ‘Laxman Rekha’ for parliamentary discourse.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to upholding the rights of all members within this framework, while stressing the shared responsibility of all to maintain the sanctity of the House.
The vice-president stressed that every day, every hour, every minute, every second of the time in the House should be used to strengthen democracy, a statement later said.
The meeting, which lasted almost two hours, ended with a customary photo session and high tea.
It was attended by Health Minister and Leader of the House J P Nadda, deputy leader of the Congress Pramod Tiwari, besides Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan. Union Minster Ramdas Athawale was also present.
However, former prime minister and JDS leader H D Devegowda and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge could not attend due to ill health.
Nadda initiated the exchange of views, which was followed by interventions from other leaders, the statement said.
He gave thrust on following the high traditions of Parliamentary procedure while running the House and extended all support.
The floor leaders of political parties while extending their cooperation urged the vice president to give adequate opportunity to the opposition parties to raise their voices in the House.
It was suggested that efforts be made to allocate reasonable time to each party so that smaller parties are not left behind owing to their limited numerical strength, to which the chairman gave an assurance that he would look into it, the statement said.
In his concluding observations, Radhakrishnan described the upcoming Winter session as an opportunity for collective effort and productive deliberation, it said.
During the meeting, Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh raised the demand that one calling attention and one short duration be allowed on issues raised by the Opposition.
Ramesh also urged Radhakrishnan to allow issues to be discussed on which no discussion has been allowed in recent years. These include on national security, especially related to China, the sources said.
The Congress leader also said that all bills must go through standing committees, as the Rajya Sabha members were not represented in two select committees constituted recently on Jan Vishwas Bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill.
Congress’ deputy leader Pramod Tiwari said after the meeting that the vice president has started a new tradition by holding a formal introductory meeting, where he listened to everyone.
In lighter vein, Tiwari also said that former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has not been given a farewell and should have been given one.
“It was decided that the Parliament should function properly. The Opposition wants discussion on important matters and we should get a chance to speak. He (chairman) assured that he will be paying heed to all the suggestions made,” Tiwari told reporters.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva said, “It was a good interaction with the chairman. We expect him to treat both sides equally for the smooth functioning of the House. We clarified that we do not intend to disrupt proceedings. As representatives of our constituencies, we need to bring several issues to the House’s attention,” Siva said.
CPI-M’s John Brittas said while the government has its way, it should at least allow the Opposition to raise their issues. He said calling attention motions and short duration discussions should be allowed on Opposition’s demands.
Brittas also raised the issue of a large number of questions being disallowed and not answered properly.
“There was an agreement that the Parliament session should be productive and should make sure that the voice of the people is heard,” he said.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the meeting was a good initiative by the chairman and it was quite fruitful. “I hope a positive outcome will happen. It all depends on the political situation, how the ruling party reacts to issues raised by us,” he said.
He also raised the issue of not bringing bills in the final hours and get it passed in haste.
Tamil Maanila Congress MP GK Vasan said all members gave constructive suggestions on the functioning of the Rajya Sabha. Most of the members felt that it was unfortunate that the last session of the Rajya Sabha was not productive, he noted.
“All the suggestions given by members were well heard by the chairman, and he gave confidence to all the members that there would be a new beginning in the next session,” Vasan said.
BJD MP Sasmit Patra said the meeting was positive and “we had meaningful interactions”. He said he was touched by the vice president’s humility and leadership. Patra said on behalf of BJD, “we have expressed our full support in the running of the House”.
Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora said on behalf of his party he wished newly elected VP. “I assured him of my party’s fullest support and the highest standards of parliamentary conduct,” Deora said on X.
Among others who attended the meeting included Sagarika Ghosh (TMC), Ram Gopa Yadav (SP), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Fauziya Khan (NCP-SP), and Prem Chand Gupta (RJD). PTI SKC KVK KVK
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