Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Vice President M. Hamid Ansari was Monday welcomed by Rajya Sabha members as he attended the upper house as chairman for the first day after his re-election to the post.

Ansari was felicitated by members across party lines, with both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley appreciating his role as the chairman of the upper house.

As soon as the Rajya Sabha met, the prime minister, who is also the leader of the house, stood up and welcomed Ansari, assuring him of the government’s support for the smooth functioning of the house.

“In you we have a distinguished personality who has served the country in diverse fields. You have served the country with great distinction,” the prime minister said.

“That you have been chosen for a second term is a tribute to your qualities,” he added.

Lauding the vice president, Jaitley lauded Ansari’s speeches as “best recorded documents” on any subject of contemporary times, adding that it was rare the way he drafted his speeches himself.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said Ansari was only the second person after S. Radhakrishnan to holding the vice president’s office for a second term.

“You have become an interesting quiz question, you are only the second person to become vice president twice,” O’Brien, who is also a quizmaster, said.

Speaking later, Ansari said the expectations of people were changing, adding that procedural changes were needed to address the “changing public mood”.

He also quoted Radhakrishnan as saying that the opposition had right to protest but it should not protest to disrupt the house.

Several members lauded Ansari’s steps to ensure better functioning of the upper house while many smaller parties and independent members requested him to allocate more time to them to speak.