Members must not cross ‘Lakshman rekha’, will protect your rightful claims: Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan
In his maiden speech on the first day of Winter Session on Monday, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan urged members to uphold the Constitution and not cross the ‘Laxman rekha’ of parliamentary discourse.
The Vice-President said the Upper House has a vast amount of business to transact, and time is a challenging factor for both the members and the Chair in this regard.
He also said that leaders must also uphold parliamentary norms, “just as players always respect the referees, we also must respect the institutions”.
“Everyone, be it the Chairman or the members, we all should understand our responsibilities towards the nation. The Constitution of India, along with the rulebook of the Rajya Sabha, determines the ‘Lakshman rekha’ for parliamentary discourse. Every individual member’s rights must be ensured, but within the ‘Lakshman rekha’. I will always do my best to protect all your rightful claims,” he said in his 10-minute speech.
At the beginning of his address, he thanked PM Narendra Modi and all other members of the House for felicitating him. He also said he has met all floor leaders of the Upper House and stressed that “the entire nation looks up to them for mature deliberations on policies”. The VP said he reminded the members that their “dharma is to work with commitment and fulfil the people’s rightful aspirations”.
He said that Parliamentary practice and procedures such as ‘question hour’, ‘zero hour’ and ‘special mentions’ offer opportunities to every individual member to raise issues and concerns of the people. He added that only in a democracy does a person rise from the humblest beginning to high positions in public life.