Harivansh begins third term in Rajya Sabha after nomination

Patna: Outgoing Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Friday took oath as a member of the Upper House after being nominated by President Droupadi Murmu to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

Harivansh’s second term in the Rajya Sabha ended on April 9. Having completed two terms as a JD(U) representative from Bihar, he has now been nominated under Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution, marking his third term in the Upper House.

He took the oath in Hindi in the chamber of Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, who administered it. Present during the ceremony were leader of the House J P Nadda; finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman; minister of state for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, and minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare Ram Nath Thakur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the veteran journalist-turned-politician and praised his contribution to public life and parliamentary discourse. In a post on X, Modi said, “Harivansh Ji has made invaluable contributions to journalism and public life. He is a respected intellectual and thinker. Through his deep insights and perspectives, he has enriched the proceedings of the House over the past few years. I am pleased that the President has nominated him to the Rajya Sabha. My heartfelt best wishes to him for the upcoming parliamentary term.”

The govt notification announcing the nomination said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate Shri Harivansh to the Council of States to fill the vacancy caused due to retirement of one of the nominated member.”

Harivansh was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 2014 as a JD(U) candidate. He was elected the 13th Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Aug 9, 2018, and was re-elected for a second term in Sept 2020. Before entering parliamentary politics, he had a long career in journalism and also served as additional media adviser to former PM Chandra Shekhar from 1990 to 1991.
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