Four RS members from J&K given farewell

On the last day of the Winter Session, Rajya Sabha today bid farewell to four members from Jammu and Kashmir, including Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, as they will be retiring in February next year.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Saif-ud-Din Soz and two members of National Conference Mohammad Shafi and G N Ratanpuri are the three other members who will retire.
Interestingly, the farewell coincided with Assembly election results in Jammu and Kashmir in which National Conference lost power. Congress, which was sharing power earlier with NC, also did not perform well.
While bidding them farewell, Chairman Hamid Ansari lauded their contribution and said the House would certainly miss members who would not be coming back.

"The members, who are retiring, have made rich contributions in the deliberations of the House and I wish to place on record my personal appreciation for the courtesy, consideration and cooperation extended to the Chair (by the retiring members)," Ansari said.
"I am sure the retiring members would continue to serve in other capacities and would be making good use of the knowledge and experience gained by them during their association with this House," he said.
On behalf of Rajya Sabha, he wished the retiring members good health, success and long years of service to the nation.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu expressed the hope that Azad would return to the House.