One of prime minister Narendra Modi's first messages to BJP MPs was to attend Parliament regularly. Yet, two party MPs figure among the eight Lok Sabha members who have been absent from the House for 15 days or more at a stretch.
During the monsoon session, Sanwar Lal Jat stayed away from the House for 37 days while cine star-turned-politician Hema Malini was absent for 25 days. Jat, an MP from Ajmer, who was inducted as minister of state for water resources in last month's expansion, cited being in his constituency as the reason for his absence while Hema Malini, an MP from Mathura, said she was abroad during the period, according to sources.
As per the PRS legislative research data till August 14, when the last session ended, Jat had recorded the lowest attendance among MPs in the House at 3% and Malini 15% against a national average of 87%. However, over the past two days she has been raising issues concerning her constituency in the House. On Wednesday she demanded immediate release of water into the Yamuna river from the Hathini Kund barrage to to facilitate pilgrims visiting Mathura.
The others whose name are likely to figure in the report of the committee on Absence of Members from Sitting of the House are Trinamool Congress members– actor-turned-politician Tapas Pal (39 days) and Bengali film star Deepak Adhikari (15 days) and Congress MPs– Sukender Reddy Gutha (24 days), Mausam Noor (30 days) and MI Shahnawaz (30 days). Pal, Noor and Reddy cited illness as their reason for absence from the House, while Adhikari said he was in the constituency and unable to attend Lok Sabha, according to sources. TMC MP Kapil Krishna Thakur was also among MPs who were absent for over a fortnight due to ill health.
However, he passed away in October following respiratory failure. Once the report of the panel is tabled in Lok Sabha, it will be left to the Speaker, sources said. If a member needs to take leave for 15 days or more, a reason has to be given for it, they said.
However, nearly 50 of the 543 MPs have recorded a 100% attendance, according to the PRS data.
