My heart bleeds when the House (Rajya Sabha) does not function due to disruption: Vice President
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha Day celebrations were organized on 29 April 2019 in GMC Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building, New Delhi to mark the Rajya Sabha Day which is observed on 3rd April every year in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. It may be recalled that the Rajya Sabha was constituted for the first time on 3rd April 1952. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha graced the occasion.
Referring to the eventful journey of the Rajya Sabha since its inception in 1952, the Vice President said, “Over the years, Rajya Sabha has emerged as a vibrant second Chamber of our Parliament, contributing to our tasks of nation building. Through the performance of its varied roles, the Rajya Sabha has lived up to the expectations of the Founding Fathers of our Constitution”.
Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu said that a Legislative Secretariat and a Legislature are complimentary to each other in sustaining the smooth and effective functioning of parliamentary democracy and as such while the Secretariat remains ever agile and active in providing requisite secretarial support to the House and the Members for enhancing legislative output, increasing disruption of the proceedings of our legislatures has impacted the legislative productivity and efficiency. My heart bleeds when the House does not function due to disruptions.
He referred to the valedictory remarks made by him at the conclusion of the last budget session when he had said that ‘people of the country want our House to be a performing House. The Members can alone make the august House a performing one or a dysfunctional one. The choice is of the Members. We should all keep in mind the expectations of the people and try to live up to their expectations’.
Appreciating the recent efforts in the Secretariat in terms of office automation and technological upgradation, he said that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat was keeping pace with the latest technology and for this, a number of steps are being taken to modernise the Secretariat in terms of ease and smoothness of work and the priority is being accorded to technology driven attendance system, work flow and e-office.
Reflecting on the multi ethnic and multi lingual character of the Parliament, the Vice President said that the path breaking efforts in the Rajya Sabha have been made such as making the interpretation facility available to the Members to speak in the House in all the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. He added that a Committee has been constituted to examine the existing rules and procedure to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
Shri Naidu applauded the Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) for making rapid strides in terms of the appeal for its content and viewership since August 2017 when he took over as Chairman, Rajya Sabha. He said that in August, 2017, the YouTube subscriber base of RSTV was around 4 lakhs. It crossed one million mark in June last year and crossed the two million mark in February this year. The YouTube subscriber base of RSTV is now over 2.5 million and is far ahead other major channels. As such, YouTube subscriber base has increased by over 500% since August, 2017 which is a creditable achievement.
The Vice President appreciated the employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for rendering non-partisan and objective secretarial assistance to the Presiding Officers, the Members, the House and the Parliamentary Committees which could sustain the progressive change in Parliament’s work profile, thus contributing to our democratic nation building.
The Welcome Address was delivered by Shri Desh Deepak Verma, Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha and the vote of thanks was given by Shri Mukul Pande, Additional Secretary, Rajya Sabha on this occasion. A cultural programme on the theme ‘Indradhanush’ a combination of different Indian classical dance forms by the artists from Kathak Dharohar, a renowned performing art institute was also organized.
The following is the full text of the speech:
राज्य सभा दिवस मनाने के लिए आयोजित इस समारोह में आप सबके साथ सम्मिलित होने पर मुझे प्रसन्नता है। इस सुखद अवसर पर आप सभी बड़ी संख्या में उपस्थित हैं, आप सभी को मेरी शुभकामनाऐं और अभिनंदन।
2. राज्य सभा दिवस, 1952 में हुई इस महान संस्था की स्थापना से लेकर आज की इसकी घटनापूर्ण यात्रा, का स्मरण कराता है। इन वर्षों में राज्य सभा हमारी संसद का जीवंत, सजग प्रहरी सदन बन कर उभरी है। राष्ट्र निर्माण में इसकी भूमिका अभिनंदनीय रही है। अपनी विभिन्न भूमिकाओं में, राज्य सभा देश के संविधान निर्माताओं की अपेक्षाओं पर खरी उतरी है।
3. व्यक्तिगत रूप से मेरे लिए राज्य सभा सदैव प्रिय रही है। अपनी विभिन्न भूमिकाओं में इस सदन से मेरा लंबा नाता रहा है – पहले इस सदन के सदस्य के रूप में, कभी संसदीय समिति के अध्यक्ष के रूप में, कभी संसदीय कार्य मंत्री के तौर पर और अब इस सदन के सभापति के रूप में इस सदन से जुड़ा रहा हूं।
- As you all know, as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, I have to discharge some constitutional and statutory responsibilities. In my tenure so far, I did take some important decisions, in relatively quick time, which were well received. This could be possible due to the expert advice tendered to me by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. I wish to place on record my deep appreciation for the high level of professionalism, efficiency and commitment of the officers and staff of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
- Rajya Sabha Secretariat has a constitutional status. The persons of calibre and expertise with appropriate educational qualifications are recruited to carry out the specialized nature of parliamentary work. They possess exceptional attributes, which make the Secretariat truly unique. Reflecting on the attributes of the parliamentary staff vis-à-vis the executive secretariat, R.K. Sidhva, a learned Member of the Constituent Assembly, while participating in the Debate relating to article 98 of the Constitution suggested and I quote:
I wish to make it clear that the staff of the Legislature Secretariat should be quite different from the staff of executive. The staff of the legislature should be chosen from persons who are amiable, social, kind, useful and helpful to the Members, and not that kind of staff which exists in the Executive Secretariat.
- राज्य सभा सचिवालय के अधिकारी, पीठासीन अधिकारियों, संसद सदस्यों, सदन और उसकी समितियों को दलीय राजनीति से दूर रह कर, वस्तुनिष्ठ, तथ्यात्मक सलाह देते रहे हैं। साथ ही आपने संसद की कार्यप्रणाली, उसके संगठन, बढ़ती हुई जन अपेक्षाओं में हो रहे निरंतर बदलावों के अनुसार भी स्वयं को ढ़ाला है और हमारी लोकतांत्रिक प्रक्रिया को सहयोग दिया है। देश निर्माण में आपका योगदान सराहनीय है।
- In recognition of this specialized roles and responsibilities, we have the system of separate Parliamentary Pay Committee to address the issues of salary, allowances and other amenities of the employees of the Secretariat. I am happy that the recommendations of the Parliamentary Pay Committee following the 7th Central Pay Commission, have been implemented. The hike in the allowances was an acknowledgement of your hard-work and commitment. I wish that our Secretariat turns out to be one of the best performing legislature secretariats in the world.
- आज के विश्व में स्मार्ट टेक्नोलाजी ही सफलता और सक्षमता की कुंजी है। देश की सर्वोच्च प्रतिनिधि संस्था का सचिवालय होने के कारण आपसे अपेक्षित है कि आप टेक्नोलाजी में हो रहे बदलावों को समय के साथ आत्मसात करेंगे। आफिस आटोमेशन तथा तकनीकी बदलाव करेंगे। मुझे यह जानकर हर्ष है कि सचिवालय के अधिकारी तकनीकी उन्नयन और कौशल प्रशिक्षण के प्रति तत्पर रहे हैं। सचिवालय के कामों में सुगमता और सरलता लाने के लिए कई कदम उठाये जा रह हैं – तकनीक आधारित अटैंडेंस/उपस्थिति पद्धति, ई-आफिस, वर्क फ्लो जैसी प्रणालियों को प्राथमिकता दी जा रही है। सचिवालय के भविष्य के लिए यह शुभ संकेत है।
- In the contemporary world, the buzz word is smart technology. Being the Secretariat of the apex legislative body, it is imperative for us to keep pace with the latest in terms of office automation and technological upgradation. I am happy to note that the officials of the Secretariat are ever open and adaptable to innovations and skill updation. Consciously, a number of steps are being taken to modernise this Secretariat in terms of ease and smoothness of work. Priority is being accorded to technology driven attendance system, work flow and e-office. All these augur well for the future of our Secretariat.
- A Legislature secretariat and a Legislature are complimentary to each other in sustaining the smooth and effective functioning of parliamentary democracy. While the Secretariat remains ever agile and active in providing requisite secretarial support to the House and the Members for enhancing legislative output, increasing disruption of the proceedings of our legislatures has impacted the legislative productivity and efficiency. As the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, I have been making sincere efforts to ensure smooth conduct of the business of the House. Parliament’s role as a catalyst for socio-economic transformation is well acknowledged. As a House of Elders, we are usually expected to show the way to others. There is an onerous and pious responsibility cast on the shoulders of all the Members of Rajya Sabha to become agents of change.
- In my valedictory remarks at the conclusion of the last budget session, I had remarked that ‘people of the country want our House to be a performing House. The Members can alone make the august House a performing one or a dysfunctional one. The choice is of the Members. We should all keep in mind the expectations of the people and try to live up to their expectations…’. We should be able to avert the public perception about the state of affairs in the House.
- हम आजकल देश में लोकतंत्र का महापर्व मना रहे हैं। कुछ ही दिनों में सत्रहवीं लोक सभा का गठन भी होगा। मुझे विश्वास है कि नयी लोक सभा के गठन के साथ ही दोनों सदनों की कार्यप्रणाली में एक नये अध्याय का सूत्रपात होगा। मैं आशा करता हूं कि अर्थपूर्ण सहयोग, संवाद, विमर्श और विधायी कार्यों के एक नये अध्याय का प्रारंभ होगा।
- मुझे हर्ष है कि इस शुभ अवसर पर एक भव्य सांस्कृतिक आयोजन रखा गया है। मुझे विश्वास है कि ‘कथक धरोहर’ के प्रतिभावान कलाकार अपने शास्त्रीय नृत्य से हम सभी का मन मोह लेंगे।इस अवसर पर मैं, राज्य सभा दिवस पर आयोजित विभिन्न प्रतियोगिताओं में पुरस्कार जीतने वाले राज्य सभा कर्मियों के बच्चों को उनकी उपलब्धि पर बधाई और शुभकामनाएं देता हूं। और उन सभी को जिन्होंने इन प्रतियोगिताओं में भाग लिया उन्हें भी शुभकामनाऐं देता हूं।
- मुझे हर्ष है कि हमारे बीच इस अवसर पर राज्य सभा सचिवालय के अवकाश प्राप्त सदस्य भी उपस्थित हैं। आप सचिवालय के वृहत्तर परिवार के सम्मानीय सदस्य हैं और सदैव रहेंगे।
- राज्य सभा के इस विशाल परिवार के अभिभावक के रूप में, मैं आप सभी को स्वास्थ्य, सुख और संतोष की शुभकामनाऐं देता हूं।
- To ensure the smooth functioning of the House, I had constituted a two-member Committee to examine the existing rules and procedures. I have already received the Report, which will be further considered. To facilitate the Members to speak in their mother tongue, if they so wish, for their effective participation in the proceedings, we have also put in place interpretation facility in all 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
- We are in the midst of the great festival of democracy. Shortly, the Seventeenth Lok Sabha will be constituted. I sincerely hope that the constitution of the new Lok Sabha enables our country to move faster towards realizing it’s potential.
- I am happy that an impressive cultural show is being presented befitting the occasion. I am sure, the versatile artists from Kathak Dharohar will entertain all of us with their classical dance performances. I am very happy that employees of the Secretariat are also putting up a cultural programme. I take this opportunity to congratulate the children of our employees for winning prizes in various competitions held to mark the Rajya Sabha day celebrations. I also appreciate all those who participated in these competitions.
- I am happy to see some of the retired employees of the Secretariat present here. You all have been a part of the extended family of the Secretariat and continue to be so in future.
- As the head of this large family of the Rajya Sabha, I wish each and every one of you the very best of health and happiness.
