Use ordinances sparingly, rethink disruptions, says Mukherjee in farewell speech

President Pranab Mukherjee gestures after his speech during his farewell ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi PicAFPOutgoing President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday gave a message to both government and opposition telling them ordinance route should be used only in compelling circumstances disruption harms the opposition too and passing bills without discussion was a breach of the peoples trustAddressing a farewell function held in the Central Hall of parliament by the members of both houses Mukherjee described himself as humble servant of people who had sought to preserve protect and defend the Constitution in both word and spiritA nostalgic Mukherjee who will demit office on Tuesday recalled that he was only 34 years old when he first entered parliament in 1969 as a Rajya Sabha MP and went on to complete 37 years as a parliamentarian where he understood the real value of debate discussion and dissent before being elected to the highest constitutional postLok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan read out the farewell address by the lower houses members describing him a guru from whom generations of parliamentarians have received lessons on operational dynamics of parliamentary practiceVice President Hamid Ansari who is also Chairman of Rajya Sabha cited Mukherjees remarks at a farewell dinner for Governors and Lt Governors last week in which he had said that their role is mainly confined to giving advice to Chief Minister as there cannot be two functional executive authorities in a stateThe function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Congress president Sonia Gandhi union ministers senior leaders from the opposition besides present and former MPs Former Prime Ministers H D Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh were among those presentMukherjee was presented a scroll a memento and a book containing signatures of the parliamentarians In his speech which received repeated applause the president addressed both the government and the oppositionI am firm in my opinion that the ordinance route should be used only in compelling circumstances and there should be no recourse to ordinances on monetary matters he said adding it should not be brought on matters pending in the house or before a committee and if a matter is deemed urgent the committee should be asked to present its report in a stipulated timeHe said it is unfortunate that parliaments time devoted to legislation has been declining With heightened complexity of administration legislation must be preceded by scrutiny and adequate discussion Scrutiny in committees is no substitute to open discussion on the floor of the HouseWhen Parliament fails to discharge its law making role or enacts laws without discussion it breaches the trust reposed in it by the people he addedMukherjee said he realised as a parliamentarian that disruptions of proceedings hurts the opposition more than the government as it denies them the opportunity to raise the concerns of the peopleMukherjee remembered his mentor former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi terming her a towering personality who had the courage to call a spade a spadePraised Prime Minister Narendra Modi he said he had greatly benefitted in his task of protecting and preserving constitution by advice and cooperation given by Modi at every stepWith passion and energy he is driving transformational changes in the country I will carry with me fond memories of our association and his warm and courteous behaviour he saidMukherjee rued that as he retires his association with Parliament will also end It will be with a tinge of sadness and a rainbow of memories that I will be leaving this magnificent building today he addedWith a sense of gratitude and a prayer in my heart I take leave of you I leave with a sense of fulfillment and happiness of having served the people of this great country through this institution as their humble servantMukherjee said his long innings in Parliament was both instructive and educative and recalled contributions of several leaders including former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh BJP leader LK Advani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi