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Follow Lakshman Rekha: Rajya Sabha Chairman in first speech
Radhakrishnan urged the members to follow parliamentary norms while adhering to the “Lakshman Rekha” as envisaged in the Constitution and House rules
Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, who presided over the Rajya Sabha as its chairman for the first time on the inaugural day of the winter session of Parliament on Monday assured that voices of all stakeholders would be heard in the House and urged the members to follow parliamentary norms while adhering to the “Lakshman Rekha” as envisaged in the Constitution and House rules.
“We all should understand our responsibilities towards the nation. The Constitution of India, along with the rule books of the Rajya Sabha, determines the Lakshmana Rekha for parliamentary discourse. Every individual member’s rights must be ensured, but within the Lakshman Rekha, as I mentioned. I will always do my best to protect all your rightful claims,” Radhakrishnan said.
He called upon all members to “commit ourselves to ensuring that our actions inside this House reflect the aspirations of every farmer, every worker, every street vendor, every woman and youth and the poorest of the poor who look at Parliament with a lot of hope”.
The country’s elected representatives, he added, needed to fulfil their “constitutional commitment” towards social justice and economic empowerment of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and weaker sections of the society.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the House in welcoming Radhakrishan — who was elected as India’s 15th Vice President, a post that made him the ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, in September — assuring that all members will always uphold the dignity of the Upper House and will remain ever mindful of maintaining his dignity as well. “This is my firm assurance to you...,” Modi said in his felicitation address to welcome Radhakrishnan.
The PM expressed confidence that as the Winter Session is set to deliberate on key national issues, the chairman’s leadership will further enrich the functioning of the House.
Referring to his humble origin, he said Radhakrishnan, hailing from a farmer’s family, has devoted his entire life to social service. “Social service has been his constant identity. Politics was only one aspect, the spirit of service remained at the core of his life’s work,” he said, adding that his longstanding commitment to public welfare serves as an inspiration for all who value service to society.
Modi also shared two anecdotes from the chairman’s early life — surviving a childhood near-drowning in a temple pond and a miraculous escape during a bomb blast in Coimbatore — which shaped his commitment to public service. “These incidents, which he interprets as signs of divine intervention, strengthened his resolve to devote himself more fully to the service of society,” the PM said.
Even as the House got together to welcome the new chairman, the opposition and the ruling side bickered briefly, when the leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge made a reference to the “unexpected and sudden exit” of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The ruling side objected to it, pointing out that the reference was not suited to the occasion.
Kharge said the Congress staunchly stands by constitutional values and time-honoured parliamentary traditions and structured debates and smooth conduct of the proceedings of the House. Assuring his party’s cooperation to the chair, the Congress president said fair and impartial conduct of proceedings of the House and providing just opportunity to members of each party, irrespective of the fact whether they belong to the Opposition or treasury benches, is essential for the credibility of the august office.
“In this context of time-honoured parliamentary traditions, I hope you will not mind that I am constrained to refer to your predecessor’s completely unexpected and sudden exit from the Office of Chairman, Rajya Sabha, which is unprecedented in the annals of parliamentary history.... I was disheartened that the House did not get an opportunity to bid him a farewell,” Kharge said, leading to an uproar from the treasury benches.
Objecting to Kharge’s remarks, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said it was a “solemn occasion” and reminded the Opposition that they had moved a no confidence motion against the former chairman. “The Prime Minister has made very dignified remarks as part of the felicitation event... Why did the honourable Leader of Opposition refer to a case which was not necessary to be raised at this moment?” Rijiju said. “The language you used for the former chairman, the way you insulted him, the motion you served, we still have that copy…” he added.
Leader of the House JP Nadda also urged members to maintain the dignity of the occasion. “This programme is a pious occasion. We should maintain the dignity of the occasion. The issue that the Leader of Opposition raised, if we start discussing this, it is irrelevant… We will also have to mention that you brought a no-confidence motion against him twice. It is an obstacle in a good and congenial environment debate which is going on,” Nadda said.
“Talking about what the Prime Minister spoke about outside… The loss of Bihar and Haryana must have given you a lot of pain…You should express your pain and suffering to a doctor. Speak about it when the time comes,” he added.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien wished the chairman “health” and drew his attention to the problems of air pollution in the Capital, the reduced duration of the winter session and the dip in scrutiny of bills. “We wish you good health, we wish you happiness... You have moved from Coimbatore to a place where the air can be a problem,” he said, expressing confidence that the chair “will help us raise our voices in this council of states.”
