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A hat-trick of ducks for Sachin in House
NEW DELHI: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is way out of form when it comes to his duties as a parliamentarian. Nominated to the Upper House in April 2012, Tendulkar
NEW DELHI: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is way out of form when it comes to his duties as a parliamentarian. Nominated to the Upper House in April 2012, Tendulkar has never participated in a debate, tabled no private members’ bills and is yet to ask a starred question.
Starred questions, as opposed to unstarred ones, are those in which a member asks the minister for an oral reply, allowing the House to ask additional questions. In short, it allows for an extensive discussion.
According to PRS legislative research — a think-tank that tracks Parliament and policy — Tendulkar has asked just seven unstarred questions in his four years as an MP. His colleagues, on the other hand, asked 244 questions each during the same period. His attendance record is also dismal — 7% against an average of 78% among members of the Upper House.
The RS currently has 243 members, 11 of whom are nominated. One nominated seat is lying vacant.
Film star Rekha has largely been a no-show as far as the Rajya Sabha goes. At 5%, her attendance record rivals that of Tendulkar and actor Mithun Chakraborty.
Chakraborty, also a nominated member, has just 10% attendance.
KC Tyagi of the JD(U) said parties should be more careful while nominating members. “Why do we need such showpieces? When Tendulkar became a member, it was expected that he would raise issues concerning sports but he did not. There was an agitation at FTII in Pune and controversies surrounding the Censor Board, but Rekha said nothing in Parliament,” Tyagi said.
