New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Shiv Sena-UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday called for changing the name of the Rajya Sabha to the ‘Horse-Trading Chamber of India.’

Speaking to IANS outside Parliament, Chaturvedi criticised the functioning of the Upper House and alleged that it has lost its dignity over time. “I say that the name of the Rajya Sabha should be changed. It should be called the ‘Horse-Trading Chamber of India’,” she said.

She further remarked that the Rajya Sabha, once known for its distinguished members and intellectual contributions, has now been reduced to a platform influenced by political bargaining.

“This Rajya Sabha, where eminent personalities have served, where members understood the soul and responsibilities of the nation, made policy decisions, and thinkers and intellectuals guided the country, has now been reduced to something shameful,” she added.

Chaturvedi alleged that the process of electing members has increasingly been affected by monetary influence and pressure on legislators. “Today, it has become a House of horse-trading, where greed and pressure on MLAs determine seats,” she said.

Expressing concern over the state of politics, she added: “It is shameful that people are being bought. MLAs consider themselves commodities; if someone offers money, they change their party.”

She reiterated the need to restore the dignity and credibility of the Upper House.

Her remarks come against the backdrop of the recently concluded biennial Rajya Sabha elections, which were held on Monday to fill 37 seats across 10 states. While several candidates were elected unopposed, voting was held for 11 seats, including five in Bihar, four in Odisha, and two in Haryana.

Among the prominent winners was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who secured a seat in the Upper House. The elections also saw setbacks for Opposition parties in states like Odisha and Bihar, where candidates backed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) benefited from cross-voting and the absence of some legislators.

Several leaders were elected unopposed across states. These included former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai from the DMK and senior Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi.

In West Bengal, four Trinamool Congress nominees — Babul Supriyo, former state DGP Rajeev Kumar, senior Supreme Court lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, and actor Koel Mallick — were elected unopposed. Former BJP state President Rahul Sinha also secured a seat without contest. Notably, Menaka Guruswamy has become India’s first openly queer Member of Parliament.

In Maharashtra, all seven candidates, including those from the ruling Mahayuti alliance and NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, were elected unopposed. Similar trends were observed in Telangana and Tamil Nadu, where multiple candidates secured seats without contest.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress candidate Anurag Sharma, a close aide of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, emerged victorious.

–IANS

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