New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Rajya Sabha on Friday paid tributes to its former members S Agniraj and Vijay Singh Yadav, and MPs observed a moment of silence as a mark of respect to the departed.

While Agniraj passed away on November 22 last year at the age of 87 years, Yadav died on May 16 at the age of 68 years.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, while reading out the obituary reference, said Agniraj, an agriculturist, was an ardent promoter of the Tamil language and represented Tamil Nadu in this House from June 1998 to June 2004.

"In the passing away of Shri S Agniraj, the country has lost a champion of Tamil language and an able parliamentarian," Naidu said.

Yadav, a social worker, represented Bihar in the House from April 2000 to April 2006.

"In the passing away of Shri Vijay Singh Yadav, the country has lost an able parliamentarian," the chairman said.

"We deeply mourn the passing away of Shri S Agniraj and Shri Vijay Singh Yadav," Naidu said.

The secretary general will convey to the members of the bereaved families our sense of profound sorrow and deep sympathy, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)