KOCHI: Even as the Indian National Congress faces heat from the ruling BJP-led NDA in and out of the Parliament, it seems the grand old party’s MPs from Kerala are just warming the benches in Rajya Sabha, official records say. P J Kurien, A K Antony and Vayalar Ravi have nothing worthwhile to show in terms of their performance in the Upper House, be it participation in debates, raising crucial questions or bringing up the Private Members Bill (PMB).
On all three counts, the trio’s performance is pitiable compared to the national and state average. The CPM members from Kerala make up for their silence in the House, the records show.Sources said the Congress High Command, having felt it cannot afford to carry deadwoods henceforth, will weigh this factor while selecting candidate for the Rajya Sabha when Kurien’s term ends in June.
As per the records, 81-year-old Ravi, who is serving his fourth term in Rajya Sabha, has raised just 31 questions from June 1, 2009 to April 6, 2018 as compared to the national and state average of 523 and 725 questions respectively. He has participated in just five debates, way below the national and state average of 101.4 and 148.8.
Former Defence Minister Antony’s involvement in the House is even worse. He neither raised a single question in the Upper House during the above period nor brought up any PMB. He participated in just 10 debates compared to the national and state average of 91.1 and 140 respectively. In comparison, Kurien fared better --- 150 questions, 35 debates and two PMBs despite the fact that he was also the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman. Compare this with the performance of CPM’s sitting members say K K Ragesh, 47, who has raised 398 questions, participated in 139 debates and brought up four PMBs or C P Narayanan, who asked 626 questions and participated in 147 debates.
K Somaprasad is the worst performer among CPM MPs (105 questions and 53 debates) but much better than the Congress MPs from the state.Former MP and CPM leader P Rajeev raised as many as 792 questions, participated in 219 debates and moved four PMBs during his term. T N Seema, another CPM member who served as RS MP from 2010 to 2016, raised 643 questions (national average 336) and participated in 87 debates.
Kerala has nine RS MPs: Joy Abraham (KC-M), Abdul Wahab (IUML), M P Veerendra Kumar (JD-U) other than Antony, Ravi, Kurien (Congress) and Ragesh, Narayanan and Somaprasad (CPM). Narayanan and Abraham’s terms will also end in June.While the LS comprises MPs elected by popular vote, Rajya Sabha consists of articulate political leaders and scholars. “Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened in the case of Congress RS MPs from Kerala,” said a Congress youth leader, arguing for a change in the high command’s approach.