 "Venkaiah Naidu")
Honourable Members, we will now take up ‘Farewell to the Retiring Members’. In the Rajya Sabha, we have this change every two years and this change co-exists alongside continuity. The new members come with a new outlook, a new orientation and a new insight and they will certainly have the benefit of learning from some of the veteran Members who have excelled in their parliamentary work. This principle of continuity is the hallmark of Rajya Sabha and we take pride in the strength of this fine blend of continuity with change.
This time, we are bidding farewell to many stalwarts of the House including hon. Deputy Chairman, Professor P J Kurien. I would like to place on record my deep sense of appreciation to Prof Kurien for the valuable guidance and cooperation that I have received from him. His professional advice has helped me immensely in discharging my duties and responsibilities. I would also like to take this opportunity to mention that our former hon deputy chairman, Shri K Rahman Khan is also retiring. When he presided over the House, I used to be a Member of this House representing the state of Karnataka, the state which he also represented. I have had the pleasure of witnessing him conducting the proceedings with a measure of dignity and grace.
Those who are retiring include many of our veteran members who have completed more than a decade in the House. Over these years, we have forged a common bond of friendship and purpose to take forward the cause of parliamentary democracy. On this occasion, let me place on record the contributions made by them which have always enriched and enlivened the debates in the House. Their initiative and participation in the committees have been invaluable.
I would like to mention that four of our nominated members, Ms Rekha, Ms Anu Aga, Shri Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Shri K Parasaran, are also retiring. These eminent members, with their enormous accomplishments in their respective fields, have enhanced the stature and profile of the House. Among those who are retiring, we also have more than a dozen members from the legal profession. I would like to mention that the contributions of these members to the debates of the Rajya Sabha have been of very high quality, reflecting their nuanced understanding of the legal and constitutional issues.
The participation of women members in the proceedings of Rajya Sabha has been very significant. It is a matter of concern that despite the stellar contributions made by many women members, they still constitute only 11.7 per cent of the total membership of the House. Six of our women members are retiring this time and two of them are returning to the House. Besides, three new women members would be entering the House. As against this, in the 2016 biennial elections, while ten women members retired, only three women members got elected. It is ironical that even though the Rajya Sabha is proud that it passed the Women’s Reservation Bill way back in 2010 and has been pressing for better representation of women in legislative bodies, there is still a very low representation of women in this House. While expressing my heartfelt appreciation for the valuable contribution and services rendered by our women members, I hope all political parties would appreciate that providing adequate representation to women in the Parliament and State Legislatures has to be accorded priority.
Some of the members who are retiring would be getting re-elected — of course, some of them got re-elected — and would continue to work with us, I hope, with renewed vigour and zeal. I am glad that the hon Leader of the House, Shri Arun Jaitley, is also back with us. We congratulate him as well as other ministers and members on their re-election. Shri Arunji, particularly as the Leader of the House has always guided us on critical occasions as and when they arose, from the side of the government and also as a parliamentarian.
For those members who would be leaving us, I would like to mention that this retirement from Rajya Sabha should be viewed as an opportunity to promote the welfare of the people and not as a retirement from public life. You are only getting retired, but not tired. People are aware of this. Once we enter public life, there is, in my view, no retirement at all. Our bond with the people would serve as a bond that endures. It continues and only gets strengthened with each passing year.
I have had the honour of being in the chair for the last three sessions. In this short span of time, I have had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I have witnessed very high quality of debates on several occasions and, on the other hand, I am filled with sadness at the disorderly, indisciplined and intemperate conduct of some of us. In this current session, I had, on several occasions, appealed to the good sense of the political parties, their leaders and the members to ensure smooth functioning of the House. I must confess that I am deeply perturbed at the way we have been conducting ourselves.
Honourable members, I would like to share something with you. Yesterday, I was present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of the presentation of Shaurya Awards by the honourable President. I saw and heard the commentary about each one of the persons who were given awards posthumously. Their family members were present there. The inclement weather, the adverse conditions in which they are stationed and the way in which they fought the enemies to protect the unity and integrity of the country is something that can’t be measured in words. And I was reminded of what is happening in our House. I don’t want to say anything more than that.
Disruptions have unfortunately become a part of political tactic and the House has often become the theatre of protest politics. In democracy, there is agreement and there is disagreement. If you agree to disagree, there is nothing wrong in it. But there is a way. I would like to see a more constructive engagement with public issues in the future and a behaviour that befits the dignity and stature that people of this great country have bestowed upon us. Let us not further erode the quality of our polity. Let us leave a legacy of powerful ideas.
Excerpts from a speech by Rajya Sabha Chairman, M Venkaiah Naidu, March 28 in New Delhi
