Vice-President Hamid Ansari called the Second Chamber (as the Upper House of Parliament is known) as a safeguard against hasty legislation. He made the remarks at a two-day training programme organised for first-term Rajya Sabha members by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
The NDA government does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition effectively contest some pieces of legislation. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, has often spoken out against this legislative obstruction. “To what extent our Upper House is going to be used to block economic decision-making. In Australia, the debate is on, the U.K. has gone through this debate a while ago, and Italy is having the same debate, because ultimately the weight of a directly elected House will always have to be maintained,” Mr. Jaitley had said in a speech in April this year.
But Dr. Ansari was categorical in his espousal of the Rajya Sabha. “The Rajya Sabha is necessary to reflect the concerns of the States as India is a Union of States. The Rajya Sabha and its creation was a conscious decision of the Constituent Assembly,” he told the 30 first-term members. “Parliament is to legislate, debate and deliberate and hold the government of the day accountable,” he said.
However, he cautioned the new members against disruptions which he said “infringed upon the rights of fellow MPs.” He urged the new members to take part in the proceedings of the standing committees which he said were important for a detailed look at legislation.
“Government departments are competent to draft laws, but MPs are needed to study the implications and fine-print of legislation,” he said.
