Good for venkaiah and for the nation

Good for venkaiah and for the nation

Venkaiah Naidu will be a good Rajya Sabha chair
Four things can be said about M Venkaiah Naidu's choice as the ruling National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) nominee for vice-president of India. He will make an excellent chairman of the Upper House. He has tact, good personal relations with political leaders from across the spectrum, a sense of humour and the good sense to appreciate the value of diversity (he is an avid carnivore in a party mostly of vegetarians, at least at the leadership level). He would not have led, for example, to the sort of situation where a leader like Mayawati is shut down while speaking on attacks on Dalits and announces her decision to quit the Upper House in protest.
The second thing that can be said with certainty is that no wave of regional goodwill towards the BJP is going to sweep across south India because of the nomination of a south Indian for the vice-president's post. People know what is a decorative post and what is not. Just because one of the active leaders from the south is being pulled up from his political roots and, so to speak, put within a gilded frame and hung upon the wall, people south of the Vindhyas are not going to swoon for the BJP en masse. The third thing that can be said about Naidu's choice is that the Opposition did the country a service by nominating Gopalkrishna Gandhi as their nominee first. This made it difficult for the ruling coalition to spring a Kovind out of total obscurity for the vice-president's post as well. They had to come up with a decent name that would command respect, and not just votes. Naidu is a savvy politician, who can be trusted to make the best out of a bad situation, which is what the NDA faces in the Rajya Sabha, which would be presided over by the vice-president.
Finally , Naidu leaves behind some important ministries: urban affairs and information and broadcasting (I&B). While the immediate allocation of I&B to Smriti Irani and urban affairs to N S Tomar gives the impression of well-oiled efficiency , the Union council of ministers could do with some fresh faces to relieve several ministers of the multiple burdens they bear.