C P Radhakrishnan urges RS members to follow 'Lakshman Rekha' of parliamentary discourse

Radhakrishnan said the Upper House has a vast amount of business to transact, and the time will be a challenging factor for both the members and the chair.

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, in his maiden speech on Monday, urged members to uphold the Constitution and follow norms and 'Laxman Rekha' of parliamentary discourse.

He said the Upper House has a vast amount of business to transact, and the time will be a challenging factor for both the members and the chair.

"Everyone, be it the chairman or the members, we all should understand our responsibilities towards the nation. The Constitution of India, along with the rules books of the Rajya Sabha, determines the Lakshmana Rekha for parliamentary discourse. Every individual member's rights must be ensured, but within the Lakshman Rekha, as I mentioned. I will always do my best to protect all your rightful claims," Radhakrishnan said in his first remarks in the Upper House.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all other members of the House for felicitating him on the first day of the Winter Session of the Parliament.

He said that Parliamentary practice and procedures such as question hour, zero hour and special mentions provide ample opportunities to every individual member to raise the pressing issues and concerns of the citizens in the House.

"Let us commit ourselves to ensuring that our actions inside this House reflect the aspirations of every farmer, every worker, every street vendor, every woman and youth and the poorest of the poor who look at the Parliament with a lot of hope. We need to fulfil our constitutional commitment towards social justice and economic empowerment of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, backward classes and the other weaker sections of the society," Radhakrishnan said.