President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said Parliament should function through debate, dissent and decision and not disruption. “There are three D’s through which Parliament functions. These are debate, dissent and decision,” Mukherjee said while delivering the keynote address in memory of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Calcutta University Centenary Hall here.
“I never heard of the fourth ‘D’, which is disruption… Parliamentary proceedings should not be disrupted by creating ruckus, there are several other places to do so,” he said. His comments gain significance in view of disruption of Parliamentary proceedings over some time on several issues.
Speaking on India reaching an agreement with Japan on civil nuclear cooperation yesterday, the President said “I am very happy. “We have earlier signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement with countries like USA, Russia and others. I initiated the process in 2008 (during his tenure as external affairs minister),” he said.
“It is necessary to switch to nuclear energy to save the environment from pollution as diesel or coal-based power plants emit pollutants. “As such in order to lessen pollution, we need alternative energy,” he said. Recalling the contribution and farsightedness of Nehru in intiating nuclear power in the country, the President said the first prime minister of the country had got Homi Bhabha to establish the Atomic Energy Commission way back in 1948.