Make Parliament voice of sanity; we don't have luxury of time, says Naidu on 1st day as RS Chairman

Newly elected Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu today started his first day in the House making a fervent appeal to the Members not to lose time in disruptions but discuss and debate as the country needed effective legislation to tackle poverty, disparity, abuse of power and many other challenges . 'We don't have the luxury of time. We have to make up for the lost opportunities of the last 70 years. We are rivals, not enemies, so let us work together,' Mr Naidu said replying to the about two-hour-long welcome speeches in the House.

'Parliament should be the voice of sanity,' Mr Naidu stressed. He assured the Members that he was now above politics and was a man of all parties, while expressing his gratitude to them for reposing faith in him by electing to discharge the exhalted responsibilities. Quoting from former President Pranab Mukherjee, who demitted office last month, the Chairman said he was for MPs to 'debate, discuss and decide', so it was not good that the House of Parliament should become an arena of fractious politics. While the Government proposes, the Opposition opposes, the House should ultimately dispose, he added.

The new Chairman noted that while both the Houses of Parliament had done a good job, but somewhere there was a growing anxiety among the people over the loss of the precious time, and a disillusionment, as people saw the functioning of Parliament because of live coverage. India was today an aspiring nation, which needed effective legislation to meet its developmental need, he added Therefore, Mr Naidu stressed, it was very crucial that there was proper time management, as some member suggested, so that Members from small parties could be given an opportunity to express themselves in the House.