Rajya Sabha bids farewell to 5 members, Maitreyan breaks down

New Delhi: CPI general secretary D Raja and four AIADMK members V Maitreyan, KR Arjunan, R Lakshmanan and T Rathanivel who completed their Rajya Sabha term on Wednesday received a fond farewell soon after House proceedings began for the day.

Maitreyan, who completed his third consecutive term as a Rajya Sabha MP, got emotional during his farewell speech as he thanked the late AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa for sending him to the Upper House. He ended his speech with a line from the Hindi song ‘naam ghum jayega, chehra yeh badal jayega, meri aawaz hi pehchaan hai, gar yaad rahe’.

D Raja wished important bills like the one on women’s reservation pending for years could have been passed. He hailed the contribution of BR Ambedkar in fighting discrimination and recalled his call for ‘one person, one value’. Leader of the House Thawar Chand Gehlot said Raja has been at the forefront of the fight for Dalit rights. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu emphasised that the retiring MPs have made an impressive contribution to the House and wished them well in future.