NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Friday bid farewell to three veteran members and senior Congress leaders — Dr Karan Singh, Janardan Dwivedi and Parvez Hashmi — who will retire later this month.
All the three members represented Delhi and will retire on January 27. While Singh and Dwivedi were present in the House during the farewell, Hashmi was not.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad recalled that Singh had become the Head of State of Jammu and Kashmir at the age of 18 years and was probably the youngest person in the world to be elected to such a post.
Azad said that 86-year-old Singh, during his 57-year-old political career, has got the opportunity to interact with all the Prime Ministers, right from Jawaharlal Nehru to the incumbent Narendra Modi.
Azad also recounted the contribution of Dwivedi and his association with the socialist movement, as also the role of Hashmi.
“The retiring members have contributed significantly to the deliberations of this House and the Parliamentary Committees and, in the process, to nurturing and strengthening of democracy. I place on record my heartfelt appreciation for the valuable contributions and services rendered by them to our democracy and to the society at large,” said Vice President and House Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recalled his interactions with Singh and Dwivedi.
Prasad said he saw a “philosopher king” in Karan Singh on par with the likes of Aristotle. Of late, the minister said, Singh had stopped writing and that he should continue it for the benefit of the nation and people.
Prasad showered praises on Dwivedi for promoting Hindi in a simple and easy way. In his valedictory speech, Singh said Parliament has evolved in the last 50 years, but all changes have not been positive. Earlier, both the Houses used to witness brilliant debates. But now, “debates have become rare and disruptions have become more frequent,” Singh said, urging the members to introspect on this aspect.