PM praises NCP's conduct in RS

Voicing his concern over the frequent disruptions in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised the BJD and the NCP, saying that they never rushed to the Well of the House to raise their issues.

While the prime minister's praise to BJD, which has on many crucial occasions helped the government pass key bills either by walking out or abstaining from voting, didn't raise many eyebrows, his comments on the Sharad Pawar-led party led to many tongues wagging.

Modi's comments have come at a time when the Western state of Maharashtra is gripped with political uncertainty— a clear combination of parties those will form the government there is still to emerge and grapevine is abuzz with all sorts of rumours.

Speaking on the occasion to mark the 250th session of the Rajya Sabha, Modi said, "Today I want to appreciate two parties. The NCP and the BJD. These parties have wonderfully adhered to Parliamentary norms. They have never ventured into the Well. Yet, they have made their points very effectively. Much can be learnt from these practices."

Noting that frequent disruptions led to several legislations being blocked, Modi said that though the Rajya Sabha was about “checks and balances”, there was also a “difference between checking and clogging” (and between) “balance and blocking”.

With some in the ruling party questioning the effectiveness of the Rajya Sabha as a crucial legislative works got stalled because the NDA lacked majority in the House, Modi recalled former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words that the Upper House "may be the second house but no one should think of it as a secondary house."

Saying that the Rajya Sabha worked with unity whenever there was a question about national interest, Modi said that no can forget the role of the House when Bills pertaining to Articles 370 and 35(A) were passed.

"This House has worked to further unity. Whenever it has been about national good, the Rajya Sabha has risen to the occasion and made a strong contribution. It was believed that the bill on Triple Talaq would not pass here but it did,” he said.

The NCP’s relationship with the BJP has not been very bitter. In past, Pawar had given a sort of a clean chit to Modi on Rafale deal, saying "people don’t doubt Modi’s intentions".