Bisheshwar Mishra/ New Delhi
Rajya Sabha today bid an emotional farewell to 53 of its members representing as many as 14 states. These members are all retiring between the months of June and July.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who lead the farewell speech to the retiring members, however lamented that the retiring members had missed the opportunity of passing his government’s major reform bill of Goods and Services Tax (GST). He said the bill would have benefited their states immensely.
The Prime Minister added that he hoped that those who would return for fresh terms to the Rajya Sabha would help pass the bill, which gives effect to a unified tax regime in the country. “Wherever you go, whatever you do, please keep sending your ideas and work for the betterment of your state. I would like to thank you on behalf of the government for your valued contribution, and wish you the best for the future,” the Prime Minister said.
The MPs retiring from Rajya Sabha include 13 from Congress, 11 from BJP, six from BSP, five from JD(U), three each from AIADMK and Samajwadi Party, two each from TDP, DMK, BJD and NCP, one each from Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal and two Independents.
In his farewell address, Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari said parting is painful, more so, when it involves a colleague and a friend, a member of the fraternity. He said every retiring member has contributed significantly to the functioning of the House.
In this process they have strengthened Parliamentary democracy. The Chairman said they are leaving behind an indelible legacy that will continue to enrich parliamentary proceedings in the future. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien wished the retiring members all success in their public life observing that no politician retires.
Earlier in a lighter vein Prim Narendra Modi had said that only Rajya Sabha had the privilege to bid farewell to its retiring members unlike the Lok Sabha. He said the members had the opportunity to experience two successive governments in the last six years. They were party to all major decisions.
It is interesting to note that the largest number of members retiring belong to the main opposition Congress party, which had also been the chief architect in stalling the Modi government’s GST plans in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority.
The GST bill was passed last year by the Lok Sabha, where the government has a big majority, but the Congress led the opposition to block the bill in the upper house, sending it back for review to a parliamentary committee.
Giving here farewell speech to the outgoing MPs, BSP leader Mayawati assured the government that if the government had brought the GST Bill her party was willing to support it after discussion. She said that all party sends the most experienced and clear headed members to the Upper House to strengthen their party and nation.
Bidding farewell to the outgoing members, Anand Sharma of the Congress said that there is no room for bitterness in Parliamentary practice. He said consensus is the most important aspect in Parliament, which led to the unanimous solution to the land boundary dispute between India and Bangladesh and the passage of the long-pending Insurance Regulatory Development Authority Bill.
Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party complained that judicial activism is encroaching on legislative space. Sharad Yadav (JD-U) demanded media’s accountability in news coverage.