NOMINATED member Harivansh was elected unopposed as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Friday for a third consecutive term. Harivansh was elected after a motion, moved by the Leader of the House, J P Nadda and seconded by S Phangnon Konyak, to elect him as Deputy Chairman, was adopted with a voice vote. A total of five motions were moved for electing Harivansh as the deputy chairman. “I declare that Harivansh ji has been chosen as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,” Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said after the motion was adopted. The Chairman then urged the Leader of the House, Nadda, and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to escort him to the seat designated for the deputy chairman. The two later took him to the seat next to the Leader of the Opposition, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Office of the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, fell vacant after the term of Harivansh ended on April 9. He was later nominated as a member of the upper house by President Droupadi Murmu.

 

Prime Minister Modi and Kharge later congratulated Harivansh on his election. “This is a tribute to experience and an acceptance of an intuitive work style,” Modi said while congratulating him. “We have all witnessed the increasing effectiveness of the House’s power under Harivansh ji’s leadership, and I can say that not only does he conduct the proceedings of the House, he also utilises the experiences from his life to enrich the House,” the Prime Minister said. Modi said Harivansh’s election for the third time to the post reflected the confidence the House has in him and his experience. It is for the first time that a nominated member has been elected as Deputy Chairman. Harivansh has been a journalist earlier. Kharge expressed hope that the Deputy Chairman will take care of the Opposition and give them adequate time in the House. The Opposition leader hoped that during his third term, Harivansh would accord more importance to the Opposition to help keep democracy alive. The Congress leader further said that he was pained by the fact that the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha has been vacant since 2019, which is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.