New Delhi: The Upper House of Parliament on Monday bid farewell to outgoing Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior parliamentarians in attendance. Naidu will demit office on Wednesday after which his successor Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of the office on August 11. While Naidu is scheduled to demit office on August 10, he was bid a farewell today as there will be no sitting of the House for the next two days, on Tuesday and Thursday, on account of Moharram and Raksha Bandhan, reported news agency PTI.
Ahead of his farewell ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Naidu for his work. "I have worked with Venkaiah Naidu Ji closely over the years. I have also seen him take up different responsibilities and he performed each of them with great dedication," the PM said.
Highlighting the fact that the incumbent President, Vice President, Speaker, and PM "were born in independent India and hail from very ordinary background" PM Modi said "I think it has symbolic importance."
In his speech, PM Modi appreciated Naidu for promoting use of mother language. "Vice President Naidu's one-liners are famous, they are wit-liners; his command over languages has been great," the PM noted. He also said that during Naidu's tenure as Rajya Sabha chairman, productivity of the House increased by 70 per cent and the attendance of members also improved.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge decided to keep the difference aside and thanked Naidu for the role he played "even under such difficulty and pressure". "We may be people of two different ideologies. I may also have some complaints with you but this isn't the time to speak about them. You played your role even under such difficulty and pressure , I thank you for it," Kharge said.
"You had advocated for a national policy for Upper Houses in all major states. You also spoke about consensus on Women Reservation Bill and other issues. I believe government will complete the incomplete you're leaving behind," he added.
Another farewell function has been scheduled for the outgoing Vice President at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium on Monday evening on behalf of all members of the House. The prime minister will present a memento to Naidu while the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha will deliver the farewell address, they said, as per the PTI report.
A publication chronicling the tenure of Naidu as the vice president and chairman of Rajya Sabha will be released by the prime minister. This will be followed by dinner.