Derek O’Brien, the Trinamool’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, has a wish-list for newly elected Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan.
Radhakrishnan, a veteran RSS-BJP leader, won by a margin of 152 first-preference votes, a result that also exposed chinks within the INDIA bloc and other opposition parties outside the alliance.
“In the eight years between 2009 and 2016, 110 notices were admitted into the Rajya Sabha for discussions. In the next eight years, between 2017 and 2024, that number dropped to an abysmal 36,” wrote O’Brien in his blog on Wednesday morning, a day after the election of the vice-president who is also the ex-officio chairman of the Upper House.
Urging the newly elected VP to take “notice of the Opposition", O’Brien wrote: “An important tool that enables MPs in the Opposition to hold the Union government accountable is to submit Notices seeking discussions on important issues. There has been a steep decline in the number of notices being accepted and then discussed on the floor of Parliament.”
The Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha leader referred to what he called the “bias” of Radhakrishnan’s predecessors, Venkaiah Naidu and Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Dhankhar’s sudden resignation from the post of vice-president had necessitated the election. Dhankhar’s tenure from August 11, 2022 to 17 July, 2025 was particularly acrimonious with furious exchanges between him and the Opposition benches.
“Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha states that a member may ask the Chair to suspend the business listed for the day, and instead take up a discussion on an issue of national importance. Under the watch of Venkaiah Naidu and Jagdeep Dhankhar, in eight years, not even one discussion was allowed under this rule,” O’Brien wrote.
During the winter session in December 2023, Dhankhar had suspended a record 146 Opposition MPs from the Rajya Sabha for “unruly conduct.” Most of the major opposition parties had repeatedly accused Dhankhar of acting in a partisan manner, not allowing discussions and debates on important bills and using suspensions to silence MPs. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had moved a no-confidence motion against Dhankhar in December 2024.
Dhankhar had once threatened O’Brien with expulsion. He had also called out Opposition MPs multiple times for rushing to the Well of the House.
Referring to the mass suspension episode, O’ Brien commented it was a “dubious record”.
“For context during the 10 years of UPA I and II, a total 50 MPs were suspended,” he wrote, urging Radhakrishnan to stop mass suspension of MPs.
O’Brien reminded that the mass suspensions were carried out because the Opposition MPs had demanded a statement from the Union home minister on an incident of security breach in the Parliament.
O’Brien’s suggestion to the new VP is to give preference to MPs with “considerable experience” to be nominated as Vice Chair (to carry out the conduct of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the chairman that is the VP) and political parties be informally consulted before the names are announced.
As the chairperson of the Upper House, Radhakrishnan has the prerogative to nominate six members.
Discussions inside the Parliament on the sexual harassment of women Olympic medal winning wrestlers, farmers’ protests and Manipur were denied.
“When a bill is being passed in Parliament, each member can move amendments to the Bill. When the amendments are being moved in the House, the Member has an absolute right to ask for “division.” In the last few years, there are multiple examples of members being denied this right. Several MPs asked for division during the passing of the contentious farm bills. The right was denied,” O’Brien wrote.
Next in O’Brien’s wish list from VP Radhakrishnan is that more bills be sent for scrutiny.
“In the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009), six out of 10 bills were sent to various committees for scrutiny. In the 15th Lok Sabha, it was seven out of 10. In the 16th Lok Sabha this number fell to around three out of 10. In the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024), only two out of 10 bills were examined by a parliamentary committee,” O’Brien wrote.
Arguing in favour of important bills being sent to parliamentary committees, O’Brien said, when a bill is referred to a parliamentary committee, it goes through critical examination with stakeholder and experts being consulted.
“This scrutiny often helps improve the quality of legislation,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also wants the new Rajya Sabha chairperson to allow more "point of orders" from the members.
“Raising a point of order is a legitimate parliamentary tactic. The Chair cannot, and must not, look away,” he said.
The Trinamool’s leader in the Rajya Sabha wished for more air time in Sansad TV and protests made the Opposition should not be censored on air. He also asked for the practice of birthday wishes for members on the floor of the House be done away with.
The fate of O’Brien’s wish-list will be known when the Rajya Sabha is in session next.