Text of PM's address at the National Celebration of the Elevation to Sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia

Respected Chairman Sir,

On behalf of the House, and on my own behalf, I extend many congratulations and best wishes to Shri Harivansh Ji. Being elected for the third consecutive time as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is, in itself, a testament to the deep trust this House has in you. The House has effectively put its seal of approval on the benefit it has received from your experience in the past period and your efforts to take everyone along. This is a respect for experience, a respect for a natural working style, and an acceptance of that natural working style as well. We have all seen the strength of the House become more effective under the leadership of Harivansh Ji, and I can say that he does not merely conduct the proceedings of the House; he also utilizes his past life experiences in a very precise manner to enrich the House. His experience makes the entire proceedings, the conduct, and the atmosphere of the House more mature. I am confident that the Deputy Chairman's new term will move forward with the same spirit, balance, and dedication, and through all our efforts, the dignity of the House will reach new heights.

Respected Chairman Sir,

Harivansh Ji was born in a village in UP, and naturally, due to his rural background, he has been doing something or the other for the development of his village since his student days. His education took place in Kashi, and since I have had the opportunity to speak on all these subjects in the past, I have said quite a lot. Therefore, I will not repeat those today. I will certainly mention one thing today: today is April 17, and April 17, 1927, is also the birth anniversary of our former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar Ji. The specialty is that today, on April 17, when you are going to take up this responsibility for the third time, it is on the birth anniversary of Chandra Shekhar Ji. Your association with Chandra Shekhar Ji, your affection for him, and in a way, being his fellow traveler throughout his tenure - this is a very big coincidence in itself. You have also written books on the life of Chandra Shekhar Ji and have done a great job of bringing the vast life of Chandra Shekhar Ji to the new generation. Therefore, it becomes a very special occasion for you that your third term is commencing on the birth anniversary of Chandra Shekhar Ji.

Harivansh Ji's public life has not been limited only to parliamentary work. The high standards of journalism are still highlighted as an ideal today. He has had a long life in journalism, but even in journalism, he always considered high standards as the foundation. We all know there is sharpness in his writing, but his speech and behavior are filled with gentleness and politeness. Even when I was in Gujarat, I had the habit of reading his articles, and I saw that he used to present his side with great firmness, and I felt that the essence appeared in them after significant study. In journalism too, he made constant and successful efforts to reach the last person, and we see the reflection of those things somewhere or the other in the House, whether it is policy or process, and this is a pleasant experience for all of us. He has been a person who works with a deep connection to the realities of society. I would say that whether it is the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, the new MPs who come can learn a lot from Harivansh Ji and can know many things by talking to him. Because when he was in journalism, he used to run a column titled "How should our MP be?" or "How should our Parliament Member be?" At that time, he probably did not know that one day he himself would have to sit there. But he used to write, and there was great breadth in those matters.

Regarding the dignity of the House and the responsibility of the sitting member, and even regarding their conduct and thoughts, he had a very deep study, and the companions of our House can learn and know a lot by sitting with him and using those points. Punctuality in a disciplined life and seriousness towards one's duties have been your specialty, and perhaps because of this, your personality has evolved into one that is universally accepted. We must have seen that since he became a member of the Rajya Sabha, I can say he is in the House full-time. He does the work of managing the House in the absence of the Chairman, but at other times too, even if any person from a committee is sitting here, his presence is always there in the House. He listens to everything, observes the work of those conducting the House at that time, and this becomes possible because of his commitment to his responsibility, and this is something for all of us to learn. I have seen that he spends his entire time on these things.

Respected Chairman Sir,

We naturally keep having positive discussions about how the House was run as Deputy Chairman and what contribution was made as a member in the House. But how he fulfills his democratic and social responsibilities outside the House among the public is also a subject that truly draws attention for those of us in public life, and we should look at it. I can say from my experience that the work is not only commendable but also exemplary. Our country is a young country, and I have seen that Harivansh Ji has preferred to spend most of his time among the youth. He continuously works toward creating awareness on serious subjects among the youth, acting as a form of public education, and for this, he travels across the country. He does not have a hobby of being in the media's eye too much, but the number of his travels and programs continues constantly. In 2018, after he began performing the role of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, according to the information I have, he has done 350 programs in colleges and universities. This is a very big task. More than 350 programs in the country's universities and colleges - going, coming, sitting with them, talking, preparing subjects for it - this in itself is very big; you have done this work on a grand scale. And you have not let the goal of connecting with the youth fade away even a bit. He keeps explaining in different ways, according to the mood of the students, why the dream of a 'Developed India' should be for the youth as well. He discusses how to instill self-confidence in students and the young generation so that they always stay out of despair. He talks with some historical references about what reasons prevented us from moving as fast as we should have, what opportunity has now arrived, and that the country can take such a big leap; the work of filling them with self-confidence is done by him. Nowadays, a trend of literature festivals has started in the country, and now that trend has reached Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as well. Harivansh Ji often goes to literature festivals and continues to influence and inspire that section of society with his thoughts.

Respected Chairman Sir,

I have heard an incident from his life; it is possible that my information might not be precise in the public domain. I have heard that in 1994, Harivansh Ji went abroad for the first time and traveled to America. When he went to America, apart from all his programs, he was asked if he wanted to go anywhere else or do something else. So he insisted, saying that since this is a developed country, I definitely want to see and understand its universities and what kind of education and culture is there because of which this country is progressing so much. And apart from his scheduled programs during that first trip to America, he spent his time only in universities and worked on studying them. That is, the yearning he had in his mind was that if this is what comes out of a developed country's university, then India's universities should also be such so that the dream of a 'Developed India' can be outlined from there.

Respected Chairman Sir,

There is a lot of discussion among MPs regarding the MPLAD fund, and it remains a subject of great relevance among MPs; sometimes there is even a struggle regarding how much the MPLAD fund is compared to the MLA fund. But how the MP fund should be used - I have personally heard Harivansh Ji's thoughts on the matters of the MPLAD fund and I am impressed by them, but we too have had some constraints. Perhaps we haven't been able to do it according to his expectations because it is a bit difficult to take everyone along on such a subject. But how he himself has fulfilled that responsibility, I believe we have seen; he used this MPLAD fund to bring his thoughts down to the ground level, with the education sector and the younger generation at the center of it all; he has set an example for using the MPLAD fund. He established such study centers in universities and educational institutions whose impact is going to last for a long time, and in that too, he kept the project-oriented solution to problems at the center. For example, for the conservation of Indian languages that are disappearing, he used the MPLAD fund for a study center at IIT Patna, and that work is continuously happening there. He did another piece of work: there are some areas in Bihar where terrifying earthquake incidents occur daily; even if a small earthquake occurs in Nepal, it affects that area. Keeping this work in mind, he got a study center for research opened through the MPLAD fund in the form of the 'Center for Earthquake Engineering'. That is, the work of studying and researching is happening continuously. We know that as I have said, Jayaprakash Ji's village Sitab Diara is where Harivansh Ji is from, and it is a village between two rivers, the Ganga and the Ghaghara, so the village always remains troubled by the problem of erosion due to water, and the river stream also keeps changing, causing much destruction. Keeping that in mind, for its scientific study, he got a River Study Center opened in Patna's Aryabhatta Knowledge University using the MPLAD fund. In Patna's Chandragupt Institute of Management, he is getting a Business Incubation and Innovation Center built. In this era of AI, he has built an Artificial Intelligence Center in Magadh University. That is, you have presented an example of how the MPLAD fund can be used in a determined direction.

Respected Chairman Sir,

We have all experienced that when people migrate from their village and go to another city, in a way, they become cut off from the village in their life. Even today, Harivansh Ji's life remains connected to the village, connected to his own village. He continuously contributes whatever he can by being a companion in the joys and sorrows there.

Respected Chairman Sir,

When the construction work of this new building of Parliament where we are sitting was going on, I had the opportunity to work closely with him. And I was experiencing that whatever thoughts came to my mind, I would tell Harivansh Ji, "What if we do this?", and within two days he would bring it back perfectly; whether it was naming something or how the identity of this House should be formed, there was quite a lot of contribution in the construction of the House, in its art gallery, or in naming various doors - that is, in every way as a partner to me, that experience of working together was very pleasant for me.

Respected Chairman Sir,

We have well seen Harivansh Ji's skill in running the House, but along with that, he also gave a lot of time and worked for the training of the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of the states and the presiding officers there, and how to be helpful to them. He also played a very active role in leaving the mark of India's democratic system in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I am fully confident that in this second quarter of the 21st century, this House has a lot to contribute. In taking the country on the path of progress and achieving the goal of development, I am confident that a lot will happen through the House, and because of that, the responsibility of all the presiding officers is very large. I can say with great confidence that all colleagues will keep cooperating to fulfill what you desire, and will not turn your work into difficulties so that you can give more outcome; I am confident everyone will do this. And as I said earlier, everything depends on 'Hari Kripa' (God's grace), and 'Hari' is of this place too, 'Hari' is of that place too, and 'Hari' will sit right here. So may 'Hari Kripa' remain. With this one expectation, my best wishes are with you.

Thank you very much!