Antony, Chidambaram, Swamy, Raut among 72 retiring RS members

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said legislators across the country should be driven by passion, performance and procedural integrity, and desist from disrupting law-making bodies.

He also asked them to uphold the honour and privilege bestowed on them by the people.

Naidu made the remarks in the House as the Rajya Sabha bade farewell to 72 members retiring during the March-July period this year.

The retiring members include A K Antony, Ambika Soni, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Suresh Prabhu, Praful Patel, Subramanian Swamy, Prasanna Acharya, Sanjay Raut, Naresh Gujral, Satish Chandra Mishra, M C Mary Kom, Swapan Dasgupta and Narendra Jadhav.

The chairman called upon elected representatives to ensure that expectations and aspirations of the people are incorporated in the designing of laws and policies, while expressing concern over the House having lost over 35 per cent of the functional time due to disruptions since 2017.

The retiring members, he said, have a total parliamentary experience of 181 terms including 143 terms in the Rajya Sabha and 38 in the Lok Sabha.

Noting that the retiring members have a vast pool of considerable legislative experience, domain knowledge, parliamentary skills and proven performance in the House, he said, "It is not often that such a pool of performers retire in one go".

Naidu recounted the contributions of some veterans and first-time members by name and also noted that most of the retiring members have kept themselves away from the tendency of disrupting the House.

The chairman said 65 retiring members represented 19 states while seven are nominated members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the MPs retiring from the Rajya Sabha to share their experiences gained in the House with people across the country and inspire coming generations.

Bidding farewell to the 72 Rajya Sabha members retiring till July, the prime minister said experience has its own importance, and the MPs should take it forward in the service of the nation.

"When experienced people go, the responsibility of those remaining increases and they have to take the House forward...," Modi said.

"In the 75th year of India's independence, our great men have given us a lot, and now it our responsibility to make our contribution to the nation," the prime minister added.

"I urge the retiring members to inspire our coming generations," he said.

Of the 72, 65 retiring members represent 19 states while seven are nominated members.