Vijayasai Reddy bids farewell to Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: YSRCP Rajya Sabha member and its Parliamentary Party Leader V Vijayasai Reddy, who is all set to retire from the Rajya Sabha in June, bade his farewell to the House along with 71 others on Thursday "thanked" the Congress for his nomination to the RS, as this being the last session during this term of his. His term actually ends in June.

"I have come to this stage only because of the alleged illegal cases foisted against me by the Congress. I must thank the Congress for indirectly helping me become a member of Rajya Sabha," Vijayasai Reddy said, while speaking at a function in Delhi organised by the Rajya Sabha secretariat to give send off to the outgoing members.

He was also profuse in thanking AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for his nomination.

"It is my fortune to grow to the stature of a Rajya Sabha member from a chartered accountant in Chennai. Congress member Jairam Ramesh gave me a lot of suggestions on various issues. He has a special place in my heart. So is former Prime Minister I K Gujral, who guided me when I was elected to RS," he said.

The YSRCP leader was also all praise for the Vice-President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for upholding the dignity of the upper house.

"I am very fortunate to be a member of the House chaired by Venkaiah Naidu," he said. He had a word of praise for the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman too. He did not forget to mention his colleague T G Venkatesh, for his effective functioning as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport and tourism.

"He was always in the forefront among all the standing committees and as the chairman of the standing committee on commerce, I was trying to score a point over him," he said.