The Rajya Sabha today gave farewell to five of its members from Tamil Nadu. They are D Raja of CPI and AIADMK members Dr Maithreyan,  K. R Arjunan, Dr R Lakshmanan and  T  Rathnavel, who are retiring today.

Lauding their contribution in the House, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said, they will be fondly missed for their aggressive and progressive action. Leader of the House Thawarchand Gehlot wished the retiring members all success in their lives saying all five members have dedicated their lives for the society.

He recalled his association with D. Raja and Dr Maithreyan.  Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also wished them a healthy life and expressed hope that they will continue to serve the people in a different capacity.

Prof Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party, T.K. Rangarajan (CPI-M), Tiruchi Siva of DMK, Prasanna Acharya of BJD, Manoj Jha of RJD, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, Manish Gupta of TMC and others also recalled the contribution of the members and wished them for their future endeavours.

In his farewell speech,  D. Raja said, Parliament is the supreme institution in   Indian democracy and it should remain as to how it was visualised by Dr B R  Ambedkar and other reformers.  He said,  in a diverse country like  India, the interest of people from downtrodden section must be safeguarded.

During his speech, Dr Maithreyan remembering former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa got emotional and broke down.