Naidu briefs leaders on proposed changes in Rajya Sabha rules, procedures

Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the general purposes committee and briefed political leaders on proposed changes in rules and procedures and conduct of business in the upper house.

Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma briefed the panel on the Report of Rules Review Committee which contained 77 amendments to the existing rules, besides 124 new rules for consideration.

The review of rules seeks to impart clarity to several ambiguous provisions of the present Rules, besides incorporating certain directions given by the chairman and addressing certain eventualities not envisaged earlier like voting/division when the House is not in order.

Leaders of 23 political parties in the Upper House attended the meeting here.

It may be recalled that Naidu has earlier desired a comprehensive review of the existing rules, particularly which seem to be inadequate with the passage of time and are not very specific and require suitable