In maiden meet with floor leaders, V-P seeks coop to maintain Parl decorum

In his maiden meeting with all party leaders of the Upper House, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Tuesday urged floor leaders of all political parties to make full use of available instruments such as zero hour, special mentions and question hour to raise issues of public importance in Parliament.

Promising to extend their full cooperation, the floor leaders requested Radhakrishnan to also give them adequate opportunity to the Opposition parties to raise their voices through various parliamentary devices – including zero hour, question hour, Private Members’ Business (PMB), short-duration discussions (SDD), and calling attention notices.

They suggested that efforts should be made to allocate reasonable time to each party so that smaller parties were not left behind, owing to their limited numerical strength. The Rajya Sabha Chairman assured leaders that he would look into these issues.

The Vice-President further said the Constitution, along with the Rules Book of the Rajya Sabha, determine the ‘Laxman Rekha’ for parliamentary discourse. He asserted that not just every day, but every second in the House should be used to strengthen democracy.

He also welcomed and thanked the 29 floor leaders, including Union ministers for their overwhelming response and goodwill messages on his assumption of office. He remarked that it was heartening to see leaders from across the political spectrum had gathered together at a short notice.

In his opening statement, Radhakrishnan emphasised the importance of ensuring that the Rajya Sabha functions with the dignity, discipline and the decorum it deserves.

He said that dialogue, deliberation, debate and discussion were the basic tenets of parliamentary democracy. Reaffirming his commitment to upholding the rights of all members within this framework, he stressed that it was the shared responsibility of all MPs to maintain the sanctity of the House.

Highlighting opportunities available to all MPs to raise issues of public concern, the Chairman highlighted zero hour, special mentions and question hour as vital instruments that allow members to bring forth matters of urgent public importance.

During the meeting, Leader of the House JP Nadda initiated the exchange of views, which was followed by interventions from other leaders.

Nadda gave thrust on following the high traditions of parliamentary procedure while running the House and extended all possible support at his command to ensure smooth conduct of proceedings.

In his concluding observations, Radhakrishnan described the upcoming winter session as an opportunity for collective effort and productive deliberation.