Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien, taunted outgoing Vice President Venkaiah Naidu during the latter’s farewell speech and said that he could have tried hard to get PM Narendra Modi to ‘answer at least one question in his tenure’. O’Brien said that when the now-repealed farm bills were passed, the Vice President, who was also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, was not in his chair. O’Brien claimed that ‘someday’ Naidu will answer that in his autobiography.
“On 2nd September 2013, you made a passionate speech on petrol and diesel in the House. One day perhaps you will tell us in your autobiography why then…,” O’Brien said. He also taunted Naidu on the alleged phone tapping issue and the Pegasus matters and said that the subjects were never discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
Naidu is slated to retire on August 10 and his successor Jagdeep Dhankar will be taking oath as the Vice President of India. Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi lauded Naidu and said that the productivity of the House increased to 70 per cent during his tenure as the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
One of the admirable things about Naidu is his passion for Indian languages. This was reflected in how he presided over the House… There is both depth and substance in what Naidu says,” PM Modi said in his farewell speech.
PM further said that Naidu has always had knowledge of everything that happened in the House, behind the curtains. Thus, as the Chairman, he always knew what was to come from both sides. This experience used to become a point of concern for Opposition friends
In his final remarks as the Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Naidu urged the Opposition parties to treat the government as rival and not as an enemy. “The day PM told me that I was being selected to become the Vice President of India, I was in tears, I didn’t ask for it. Party had given the mandate, I obliged and resigned from the party. Tears were because I had to leave the party,” Naidu said.
