By IANS,
New Delhi : The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on the first day of the monsoon session of parliament Monday after tributes were paid to former vice president and chairperson of the house Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
In an obituary reference, Hamid Ansari, the chairperson of the upper house, said Shekhawat was a forward-looking politician who worked in the politicial and social spheres of Rajasthan. He made a mark as the chief minister of Rajasthan thrice and as the vice president of the country.
Tributes were also paid to Virendra Bhatia, a member of the current house, and former members Digvijay Singh and K.A. Krishna Swamy.
The members observed silence for a minute to pay homage to the departed leaders.
The house remembered those who died in the Air India Express aircraft crash in Mangalore, the Gyaneshsari and Uttar Banga train accidents in West Bengal and the Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh recently.
At the beginning of the proceedings, 52 newly-elected members were sworn-in. These included ministers Anand Sharma and Ambika Soni, Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan, Congress leader Satish Sharma and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy.