I feel privileged to join the Hon'ble Members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly at the Valedictory Caremony of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Legislative Assembly. I am grateful to the Hon'ble Speaker of this Assembly. My respected father Late Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee was Member of the West Bengal Legislative Council from 1952 to 1964. My son, Abhijit who is now a Member of the Lok Sabha, started his political career as  Member of this Assembly. I first entered the hallowed corridors of Parliament in 1969 on being elected to the Rajya Sabha by members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. There after on three more occasions I was elected by members of West Bengal Assembly to Rajya Sabha in 1975 1993 and 1999. I am particularly delighted that Shri Gyan Singh Sohanpal and Shri Md. Sohrab. I greet them and wish them the very best of health. I compliment the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for felicitating on this occasion senior Members of this House who are the torch-bearers of our Parliamentary traditions. Eminent legislators who have been Members of this legislature include Sarat Chandra Bose, Subhas Chandra Bose, Birendranath Sasmal, Dr. Shyama Prashad Mukherjee, Hemnta Bose, Ajay Mukherjee and others. I salute these great personalities of Bengal Bhowmik, Gita Mukherjee, and others. I salute these great personalities of Bengal who have left an indelible mark on India's modern history. Through this august house, they have given expression to the voice and spirit of the people of Bengal. Of course, the proposed amendment has a new feature. As we all know, terrorist attack took place in Mumbai on 26th November, 2008. After that attack, the Government felt that the CISF should be deployed in the Non-Governmental Orgnisation also. Honourable Members, the West Bengal Assembly has some unique records to its credit. Three of its members Khawja Nazimuddin, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Mohammad Ali of Bogra went on the become Prime Ministers of Pakistan. Similarly, Shri Jyoti Basu who served 22 months as Deputy Chief Ministers and 23 years as Chief Minister is the longest serving Chief Minister in the country. (Incidentally, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister for 17 years and Shri Karunanidhi, who has been a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly/Council for 50 years was Chief Minister for 19 years). This beautiful complex was built during 1928-30 and the Bengal Legislative Council began to hold sittings here from February9, 1931. Its mute walls are witness to innumerable historic events. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations mark 75 years since the first election to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in January 1937. Honourable Members, the history of West bengal Legislative Assembly is intrinsically linked with the evolution of constitutional developments in India. Kolkota has been the nursery of legislative practice and representative democracy in our country. These have occurred on two distinct stands-the Central legislature whose headquarters was Kolkata till the shifting of the capital to Delhi in 1911 and the Provincial legislature of Bengal. Origins of the modern day legislative process in India can be traced back to the 1600 Charter which authorized the Governor and the East India Company "to make, ordain and constitute such and so many laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances.
