BENGALURU: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday expressed concern over disruptions caused during proceedings in Parliament and the state assemblies. "Disruption means you are disrupting the cause of the country,” said Naidu.
Speaking at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award presentation ceremony organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, Naidu said the Parliament and state assemblies are meant for debates and discussions. There are bound to be tensions during debates, but the members should focus on maintaining decorum as people notice them.
“Not that I am afraid to take action. I can take action and if necessary I will take action. But, the point is people become sad when they see such things on television. That has to be kept in mind by everybody," he said referring to the recent ruckus in the Rajya Sabha.
While Union Ministers have demanded action against Opposition members for disrupting the proceedings, the Opposition has blamed the government for the ruckus in the Upper House of the Parliament.
He called upon elected representatives and those holding high offices to constantly make efforts to improve the living standards of people and make efforts to improve their standard of functioning. “The Prime Minister, President, Vice-President, Chief Ministers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and all elected public representatives should always focus on improving standards in public life by setting standards and rising to the occasion,” he said.
“You might have seen what happened in Parliament sometime back. A lot of youngsters called me and told me ‘You are the Vice President of India, why are you so sad?’ I am sad because of the bad behaviour of some people,” he said, pointing out that it was a new low in the Indian Parliament.
Naidu hoped that legislators would try to improve the quality of debates, discussions and decisions and avoid disruptions. “Protests and dissent are rights in a democracy. Agree to disagree, but you cannot physically force anyone. People’s verdict is ultimate in a democracy,” Naidu added.
Naidu presented the Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award to MR Jayaram, Chairman, MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions in Bengaluru.