Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday were seen having an exchange of laughter ahead of the farewell ceremony of 72 retiring MPs of the Upper House.
Prime Minister Modi this morning was walking into the area for a group photo with the Rajya Sabha members retiring in the next couple of months. He was seen greeting all the leaders on his way including DMK MP Tiruchi Siva and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar amongst others.
As the Prime Minister came to the centre of the photo opportunity area, he was seen shaking hands with the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
The two were seen chatting for quite some time and exchanged laughter.
While the Prime Minister was seen referring to Kharge and asking them to slow down and allow the House to function, Kharge, in turn, told the Prime Minister that his party's job is to ask questions and the PM and his government is to answer. The two leaders finally laughed and parted ways.
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday bid farewell to 72 members retiring from March to July this year.
The 72 retiring members include AK Anthony, Ambika Soni, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Suresh Prabhu, Praful Patel, Dr Subramonian Swamy, Prasanna Acharya, Sanjay Raut, Naresh Gujral, Satish Chandra Mishra, MC Mary Kom, Swapan Dasgupta, Dr Narendra Jadhav. Sixty-five retiring members represented 19 States while 7 are nominated members.
Prime Minister bid farewell to the retiring 72 Rajya Sabha MPs, saying that they should come back to the House given their rich Parliamentary experiences.
Speaking in the Upper House, the Prime Minister noted that the retiring MPs include those who have been members of the Rajya Sabha for three and four terms.
"We have spent a long time in this Parliament. This House has contributed a lot to us also. In fact, the House has given us more than what we have contributed," said the Prime Minister, who at the outset of his farewell speech wished that the retiring MPs would be able to come back to the House.
The Prime Minister stated that the retiring MPs are reservoirs of experience. "Sometimes experiences are more useful than academic knowledge. The experience helps us in solving problems and the mistakes of the new are minimised," the Prime Minister said in the Rajya Sabha.
He also said that such MPs should take their rich experience to all parts of the country.
"The House naturally has a sense of loss when MPs with so much experience leave. Those who do not have experience have far more responsibilities. Let us resolve that whatever we have learned from the retiring MPs should be carried forward for the progress of the nation. We will say to the retiring members 'come again'," he added
