Rajya Sabha bids goodbye to 72 members, PM hails contribution

He said knowledge alone can’t bring about the change that the combined force of knowledge and experience can, which many senior retiring members brought to the House.

“When experienced people retire, a lot would be said about them in the House but the responsibility of those remaining increases. The tales of experience left behind by those retiring, remaining members have to take that forward,’’ said the Prime Minister, wishing the departing members’ luck.

The 72 Rajya Sabha members are set to retire between March and July. Sixty-five of them represent 19 states while seven are nominated members.

While there are 45 first-time members retiring, 27 have served two terms or more, “reflecting the loss of experience that the House would be incurring” noted Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.

Nine women Members, including boxer M.C.Mary Kom, are also retiring in this round.

Among those retiring, A. K. Antony and Ambika Soni have served five terms.

Anand Sharma, Suresh Prabhu and Praful Patel have completed four terms each.

Subramanian Swamy, Jairam Ramesh, Prasanna Acharya, Sanjay Raut, Naresh Gujral, Sardar Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Satish Chandra Misra have served three terms each.

Another 15 Members have served two terms each.

P. Chidambaram has the longest legislative experience — one term in Rajya Sabha and seven terms in Lok Sabha.

Praful Patel served four terms each in both Houses.

The four ministers completing their terms are Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ramachandra Prasad Singh.

Floor leaders of four parties — Prasanna Acharya of BJD, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, Satish Chandra Misra of BSP and Sardar Balwinder Singh Bhunder of Shiromani Akali Dal — are also completing their tenures.

Chairpersons of five department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees of Rajya Sabha are retiring — Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, T G Venkatesh, Vijayasai Reddy and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.

“We are honoured that the Prime Minister has also come to the House. This is the first time I’m seeing the House so full. There are two former PMs here and members from across sectors and fields who bring their expertise to this House. Thirteen friends from my own party are retiring, including some very senior members. Like Deputy Leader Anand Sharma and Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh — whose expertise we have drawn from over the years. Our senior most leader AK Antony has served as a central minister and Chief Minister. He doesn’t talk very much but worked very hard and we have all gained from his experience. We can have different ideas and opinions, but we have to work together,” said Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

Quoting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Kharge said: “If the ruling side were to take the assistance of the opposition in resolving issues, we can move forward.”

Rajya sabha swung between solemn and lighter moments as members reminisced on their experiences with colleagues.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh said that his personal wish was that the members return to Rajya Sabha.

“There are 2,282 members till date who have served more than one term in Rajya sabha. In its capacity as a Federal Chamber, this House reflects the unity in diversity of this country,” said Harivansh.

Harivansh said those members who do not return should be called back to hold orientation sessions for future members. They should also pen down their experiences so that institutional memory can be established, he added.

DMK’s Tiruchi Siva said senior Congress leader Anand Sharma would always borrow his pen, to which Naidu asked if he ever returned it. “Yes, I always kept the cap with me,” replied Siva to laughter.

Naidu then said that he and late Congress leader Jaipal Reddy would never bring their own pens and borrow from others, which they would inevitably forget to return. “Then later I found out that whenever members saw either of us approaching, they would take their pens out of their shirt pockets and hide it in their pant pockets,” he said.

YSRCP’s Vijayasai Reddy said that as Chairman of the Commerce committee, he found that head of the Transport and Tourism Committee T.G.Venkatesh was always competing with him. “I was also trying to get ahead of the Transport committee,” he said.

Former PM H D Devegowda said: “I must convey my regards to all Members who have contributed to this House. Today we are losing very close friends… I hope that they come back to this House and we work with them again.”

Outgoing member K J Alphons said: “When I walked into Parliament today, my dear friend of 30 years Mr John Brittas said ‘Mr Alphons you are wearing the jacket of an IAS probationer’. This is the same jacket I wore when I walked into Mussoorie Academy 42 years back.I said I was going to be the voice of the people as an IAS. For 27 years, from being the District Collector of Kottayam to being Commissioner of Delhi Development Authority, I have survived in this system because of the blessings of God and the people of this country.”

CPI(M)’s Elamaram Kareem pointed out how crucial Anand Sharma’s interventions were on Constitutional issues, especially at the time of the discussion on Kashmir when he pointed to the Instrument of Accession.

“While we are debating, we strongly argue for our voice. Obedience is not the only thing in democracy. Mahatmaji said ‘responsible disobedience’. Standing there, Sir, on certain occasions is not a disrespect to this House. Sometimes, we are compelled to do so,” said Kareem.

“I have never seen in my past 25 years, so many experienced people retiring at one go. I am fearful that the Parliament will become poorer because of this. The replacements must be as knowledgeable and erudite. I request all political parties to think on this, to not keep the 75 year limit, but to bring back their members if they are still healthy,” said SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav.