Focus on framing policies, leave politics outside: Naidu to new MPs
New Delhi, Aug 4 : Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday advised newly-elected and nominated members of the House to focus on only framing policies and leave politics outside the Parliament.
"Leave your politics outside the Parliament and contribute your best for framing the programmes and policies for the benefit of the poor," said Naidu while addressing the orientation programme for the newly-elected and nominated members of the Rajya Sabha here.
The Vice President said the rules are sacrosanct for "all of us and together we are bound by the Rule Book".
He said the rules provide enough instruments to raise the issues of public importance and that "we can utilise available time efficiently with scrupulous adherence to rules".
"The parliamentary democracy allows enough space for the articulation of diverse view points. When an issue is thoroughly debated and multiple perspectives emerge, the final legislation is likely to be more comprehensive," Naidu said.
Saying the Rajya Sabha follows a set of rules and procedures, Naidu said adherence to these rules ensures an orderly conduct of the House.
"This orientation programme will enable you to get familiar with these important procedures," he added.
"We are for the first time starting the new parliamentary system, with a second chamber in the Centre, and we should try to do everything in our power to justify to the public of this country that a second chamber is essential to prevent hasty legislation. We should discuss with dispassion and detachment proposals put before us," said Naidu, quoting first Chairman of Rajya Sabha S. Radhakrishnan.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman also invited the members to use the new IT initiatives and noted that e-notice system has been introduced for the benefit of the parliamentarians where notices can be submitted online.
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Govt floats tender for new Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg
Mumbai (PTI): In the wake of collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg, the Maharashtra government has issued a tender for the construction of a new 60-foot-tall statue there, nearly twice the size of the previous one, officials said on Wednesday.
The statue will be built at a cost of Rs 20 crore and the government has set a six-month timeframe for the completion of the work, they said.
A 35-foot-tall statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 (Navy Day) last year, collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds.
The statue's sculptor, Jaydeep Apte, was later arrested.
The government has faced flak as the opposition parties alleged the decision to install the statue in Sindhudurg was taken haphazardly, which resulted in poor quality of work.
Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had flagged concerns over rust gathering on Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and suggested permanent measures in a letter sent to a Naval official just six days before the structure collapsed.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.
He claimed winds were blowing at 45 km per hour when the statue collapsed.
A tender has been issued for the construction of a new statue and its height would be 60 feet, a PWD official said.
"The total cost would now be Rs 20 crore, including its engineering, installation and maintenance. The government has given six months to complete the work. The height of the statue would be 60 feet," the official said.
