Rajya Sabha bade an emotional farewell on Monday to Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. Naidu demits office as Vice President on Wednesday and his successor Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of office on August 11.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition M Mallikarjun Kharge and several other MPs cutting across party lines paid tributes to Naidu for his stint as the Chairman. Many of them also fondly remembered him as an excellent host serving sumptuous food.
Naidu turned emotional when Derek O’Brien (TMC) recalled how Naidu lost his mother at the age of one when a bullock attacked her.
Recalling the incident of his mother’s death, Derek O’Brien(TMC) said a bullock attacked Naidu’s mother in the stomach when she was carrying Naidu in his arms. She later died in hospital and left behind Naidu to find his own destiny.
The Prime Minister hailed his contribution to Parliament and recalled his witty one-liners. Modi also praised Naidu for ensuring productivity of the Upper House in his five year tenure and said it increased 70 per cent.
Addressing the Upper House after farewell speeches, Naidu said, “We are not enemies, we are rivals.”
On the functioning of the House, Naidu said he tried to accommodate and give opportunities to all sides — South, North, East, West, North-East. “Each one of you has been given time,” he said. He also appealed to the members to maintain decorum and decorum of the House.
On his selection for the post of the Vice President, Naidu said the day the Prime Minister told him about this decision he was in tears. “I didn’t ask for it. Party had given the mandate, I obliged and resigned from the party. Tears were because I had to leave the party,” he said.
Most MPs besides the Prime Minister also appreciated Naidu’s efforts to encourage the Members to articulate their points in their native languages in the House.
Touching upon his one-liners, the PM said, “They are win-liners too. It means nothing more needs to be said after those lines. Your every word is heard, preferred and revered and never countered.”
He also said Naidu worked on the principle that ‘let the Government propose, let the Opposition oppose, let the House dispose.’
On productivity of the House, Modi said 177 bills were passed or discussed during Naidu’s tenure.
Modi said Independence Day this year will be celebrated with the President, Vice President and Lok Sabha Speaker all born in independent India. “And each of them comes from very humble backgrounds,” he added.
Referring to the passage of the farm bills in the House in September 2020, Derek O’Brien said. “The day this House passed the farm bills, you were not on the Chair, It was a very important day. Maybe you will write about it in your autobiography.”
He also took a swipe at the Prime Minister for not answering even one question during Naidu’s tenure.
The TMC MP also reminded Naidu about his “passionate speech” on fuel prices while the BJP was in the Opposition. O’Brien also remarked Naidu had in 2013 also made an intervention regarding phone-tapping but there was no discussion on Pegasus in the Upper House during his tenure as Chairman.
V Vijay Sai Reddy (YSRCP), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Sasmit Patra(BJD), John Brittas (CPM), Praful Patel (NCP), Ramdas Athawale (RPI(ATWL) and T Siva were some of the other members who spoke on the occasion.