After vote, parties unite in cheering Harivansh win
NEW DELHI: Moments after the result of a keenly fought election to the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman’s post was announced, political leaders cut across party lines to lavish praise on the victor Harivansh in a rare display of bonhomie on Thursday.
The Janata Dal (United) MP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee defeated the Congress’s BK Hariprasad, the joint opposition candidate. Harivansh won 125 votes and Hariprasad 101.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harivansh and said, “I am confident that every member, be on this side (treasury) or that side (opposition) will have his mercy.”
Earlier, as RS chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the result, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar, his junior Vijay Goel and Union minister Arun Jaitley, who attended the House for the first time after a kidney transplant surgery in May, went up to Harivansh’s seat to congratulate him.
The three leaders then walked him to his new seat, in the front row next to the Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad. Opposition members including former PM Manmohan Singh also congratulated him.
Congratulating Harivansh on behalf of the House, Modi recounted how Harivansh was a favourite of late former PM Chandrashekhar. There was a reason behind it, he said.
“He was a journalist and was associated with a newspaper. But despite knowing about Chandrashekhar’s impending resignation in March 1991, he did not let his newspaper know. He maintained the dignity of the (Prime Minister’s) office”.
The PM said that it was a special day as it happened to be the Quit India movement’s anniver- sary and Harivansh was from Ballia, a place associated with the freedom struggle.
Modi also recounted Harivansh’sassociationwithsocialist icon Jai Prakash Narayan, who was from the same village where he was born. “As a parliamentarian you had a successful tenure. But inside the House, more often, it is the umpires who are more concerned than the players. It’s a challenge to force members to play within the rules of the game. I am hopeful that Harivansh will do it successfully,” Modi said.
Leader of the House Jaitley said he is hopeful that Harivansh would help further improve the quality of discourse in the House. “In the House he has never made personal attacks on anyone… I am hopeful that he will enhance the dignity of the House and maintain a balance between government business and the opposition raising issues of public importance”.
Azad said that a Rajya Sabha deputy chairman does not represent any party. “I request him to look at the left and left of centre,” he said. Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’ Brien said that though Harivansh was sitting on the right, he was hopeful that as deputy chairman he will look at “all of us.”welcoming him, RS chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said Harivansh had a calm demeanour, which would help him discharge his new responsibility.
After the leaders finished felicitating him, Harivansh got up to address the members.
“Surrounded by so many experienced people, I am frightened today. But then this also gives me strength as I know you will guide me. I assure you that I will run the House in a fair and decent manner,” said Harivansh.
Naidu invited Harivansh to preside over the RS proceedings after his speech was over. Amid the thumping of desks by members, he took over from Naidu. It was 1pm by then and his first order after taking charge was to adjourn the House till 2 pm. NEWDELHI: The Opposition’s challenge in the Rajya Sabha deputy chariman’s election was over with Naveen Patnaik telling Sharad Pawar last Tuesday that he has committed support to Harivansh in response to a call by Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar.
The Bihar chief minister had reached out to his Odisha counterpart ahead of a similar request by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) stalwart. The Biju Janata Dal’s nine members in the Rajya Sabha tilted the scales decisively for Harivansh and the ruling NDA in what till then was a tight contest.
Another factor that made the NCP pull out its candidate Vandana Chavan was the Shiv Sena chief predicating his support to the Opposition on whether it had the numbers to defeat the NDA nominee. Uddhav Thackeray had said that in as many words to Pawar. That clearly wasn’t the case with Patnaik taking a call in favour of Harivansh. The BJD’S precondition for support was that