The historic 250th session of Rajya Sabha began today with the commencement of Winter Session of Parliament.
Speaking during a special discussion in the Rajya Sabha, marking the 250th session of the Upper House, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the Rajya Sabha is essential for checks and balance in democracy.
He, however, said a distinction needs to be drawn between checking and clogging. Mr Modi stressed on maintaining a balance between national vision and regional interest.
The Prime Minister said, the Rajya Sabha gives an opportunity to those who are away from electoral politics to contribute to the nation and its development. He stated that it was through the Rajya Sabha that a stalwart like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar could contribute even more to national progress.
Mr. Modi said that Rajya Sabha has passed several historic bills related to triple talaq, reservation to economically weaker sections, Goods and Service Tax and abrogation of article 370.
The Prime Minister appreciated NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Biju Janata Dal for never rushing to the Well of the House to raise their issues.
Mr Modi recalled former 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.
Participating in the discussion, former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh said the Rajya Sabha must get enough importance in the matter related to restructuring the boundaries of States and dropping crucial articles.
Professor Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party said the Rajya Sabha is not merely for giving assent to whatever passed by the Lok Sabha, adding that it is the duty of Upper House to protect the rights of States.
Other members who participated in the debate include Prasana Acharya of BJD, Bhupendra Yadav of BJP, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of TMC and Praful Patel of NCP.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu appealed to the members to take part in the debate and come out with effective suggestions for better functioning of the House.
On the first day of the Winter session of Parliament, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha paid tributes to the sitting and former members who passed away during the inter-session period. Obituary references were made to Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ram Jethmalani, Jagannath Mishra, Gurudas Dasgupta, Sudhir Roy, BL Sharma, and Sukhdev Singh, among others.
The silence was also observed for a few moments as a mark of respect to the departed members.
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