Welcome speech delivered by Secretary- General, Rajya Sabha, Dr.Yogendra Narain at the Seminar "Role and Relevance of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity" organized by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi in Parliament House Annexe on 14 December 2003.

 

 

Hon'ble Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Bhairon Singh Sekhawat ji; Hon'ble Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha, Dr. (Smt.) Najma Heptulla ji; Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, Shri G.C. Malhotra ji; Director of the, Indian Institute of Public Administration, Dr. Sanjeev Reddy ji, distinguished Speakers, Members of Parliament, dear students from Central Universities, IITs, IIMs, Media personalities of the electronic and print media, officers of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats, ladies and gentlemen.

It is my proud privilege to extend a warm and hearty welcome to all of you to this Seminar on the Role and Relevance of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity being jointly organized by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Indian Institute of Public Administration to commemorate the 200th Session of Rajya Sabha.

The scheme of bicameralism, i.e., two Houses of Parliament was first incorporated in the Constitution of India Bill, 1895. Later in 1927 the Swaraj Constitution proposed by the Committee headed by Motilal Nehru advocated a legislature with two Chambers for the independent India. Rooted thus in the traditions, reared and nurtured during our fight for freedom, the Council of States, popularly known as Rajya Sabha, has emerged as a shinning example of a Second Chamber with a splendid record of performance and innovation which is now looked upon with admiration by rest of the world.

To understand the importance of the Rajya Sabha, to comprehend its evolution more critically and appreciate the challenges confronted by it, this Seminar has been organized on the historic occasion of the 200th Session of Rajya Sabha. Renowned and outstanding personalities from different walks of life have been invited to express their valuable ideas. .

The aim of the Seminar is two fold awareness creation and self education. Awareness among those who see Parliament from the prism of the outside world and who are going to be the leader of tomorrow -the youths and self education for those who live in the world of parliamentary life and would like to learn from the experience of those who have preceded them in this vocation.

Let me warmly welcome the outstanding and renowned speakers, Prof. Madhu Dandavate, Shri Era Sezhiyan, Shri P.Shiv Shanker, Smt. V.S. Rama Devi, Shri L.M. Singhvi, Shri Ranganath Mishra, Shri Kuldip Nayar, Shri Harish Khare, Shri R.C. Tripathi and Prof. (Smt.) Noorjehan Bava who have excelled in their respective fields and are acknowledged for their rich ideas and contributions.

" It is also indeed a great privilege to have with us eminent p~liamentarians who in spite of their heavy load of work relating to the current session of Parliament have found time to attend this Seminar. I also cordially welcome them.

Hon 'ble Chairman Sir and distinguished Speakers let me inform you that possibly for the first time in the history of our Parliament a decision was taken to invite students of the Central Universities, IITs and IIMs to attend a Seminar organized by a particular House of Parliament to discuss one of the important institutions of parliamentary democracy. It was thought that the discussions of a Seminar of this importance must be shared by students of our country on whose shoulders the future of our country rests and who must understand the functioning of Parliament in proper perspective. We requested all the Central Universities, IITs and IIMs to send five students each. In response to our request, we have now total of 86 students with us. Central Universities such as JNU, BHU, Jamia Milia University, University of Hyderabad, Pondicherry University, Aligarh Muslim University, Ambedkar University, Lucknow and Visvavarti Shantiniketan have sent 42 students.

I have great pleasure to announce that we also have with us 34 students from IITs from Roorkee, Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Guwahati, Kanpur and Khargpur.

Besides, it is our privilege to have with us today 10 students from Indian Institutes of Management located in Indore, Ahmedabad and Kanpur. To all these bright students from such prestigious educational and technological institutions I extend a very warm and special welcome.

I also welcome to our midst officers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Members of media, staff of the Central Public

Works Department, Horticulture Department and others whose contributions to organize this Seminar -are valuable.

I am sure that the deliberations in. the Seminar is going to be educative, informative and instructive to all of us.

Thank you.