Chouhan said that Rajya Sabha had lost its relevance and persons like Vijay Mallya get entry into the Rajya Sabha through wrongful means. He also said that British had instituted the Upper House of Parliament but it was no longer serving its purpose.
If at all there is need for prominent citizens, artists and intellectuals, then a quota of 25-30 persons should be reserved in the Lok Sabha itself. At the seminar on electoral reforms, Shivraj's utterances surprised the audience.
As a host of top BJP leaders have also failed to win Lok Sabha election and are in Rajya Sabha, the comments were clearly going to unruffle feathers in the central leadership of the party. Also, the statement was against the constitutional body.
Later in the night, Chouhan 'clarified' that he didn't mean that Rajya Sabha had lost its significance. He said that his statement reflected his concern for parliamentary democracy and decorum in the houses. Chouhan said that he respected the leaders of Rajya Sabha and regrets if any other inference was made from his statement.
