Sachin attends Rajya Sabha 23 days; Rekha 18

With the government being embarrassed on the floor of the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the non-attendance of MPs has come under the scanner. Under scrutiny were cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Rekha after Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal raised the issues of the non-attendance of MPs in Rajya Sabha.

Sachin Tendulkar has attended only 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012. He has raised only 22 questions in the house, the last issue which was raised by him in 2016 was on “attacks in trains by robbers”. Rekha has attended 18 days out of 348 days which is the least number of days compared to those who were nominated along with her. She has not raised a single question in any session since her nomination in 2012.

Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal hit out at former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood actress Rekha over their low attendance in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. “Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha should resign if they are not interested in Parliament. Further, comparing cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress Rekha with beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya and said that if the house can expel Mallya, then why not Rekha and Sachin?” said Agarwal.

Large sums of money are spent on both the MPs that too for not attending the session. While the expenditure incurred on Tendulkar is ₹58.8 lakh till date, the expenditure incurred on Rekha is ₹65 lakh as salary and expenses. This translates to an expenditure of ₹3,60,000 per day incurred on Rekha and ₹2,56,000 per day on Tendulkar.

Both the MPs are not only callous, but also rarely discharge their duties. Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for, works to the tune of ₹5 crores per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. But of the total ₹25 crore that Tendulkar is entitled to for five years, he has recommended works worth ₹21.19 crore, while ₹17.65 crore was made available. Rekha has recommended works of ₹9.28 crore, while ₹7.6 crore was made available.

The legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar might not have faced a lot of criticism on the field. But, he is being criticised for his absenteeism at the Rajya Sabha. Here is the attendance chart of Sachin Tendulkar.

While these biggies are facing criticism for their careless attitude towards their responsibilities, records of other celebrities like Jaya Bachchan and Mary Kom is quite appreciable. However, this was not the first time when Agrawal raised the issue. Both Rekha and Tendulkar have earlier too faced criticisms for their dismal attendance in the house.

Earlier in March, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Agrawal had said, “We have been yearning to see the presence of the nominated members. They never come to the house. The entire session is over but we haven't seen them, be he Tendulkar or film actress Rekha or the others.”

Members from different fields like sports, arts and literature are chosen so that they will raise the issues which are not political in nature but need a voice. But it seems occupying a Rajya Sabha Seat is just a source of income and status symbol for some celebrities.