With disruptions in Rajya Sabha in the past hindering passage of crucial legislations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Upper House of Parliament was essential for checks and balance in democracy but a distinction needs to be drawn between checking and clogging.
Speaking on the occasion of the landmark 250th session of Rajya Sabha, he lauded Sharad Pawar's NCP and the Biju Janata Dal for never rushing to the well of the House to raise their issues and yet raising their points effectively.
"The Rajya Sabha is about checks and balances. This is absolutely essential for our democracy. Debates have to be many and effective. But, there is also a difference between checking and clogging (and between) balance and blocking," he said.
With some within the ruling party questioning the effectiveness of Rajya Sabha as crucial legislative work got stalled because NDA lacked majority in the House, Modi recalled the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words that the Upper House "may be the second house but no one should think of it as a secondary house."
"This House has worked to further unity."
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