NEW DELHI: As Parliament commemorated the 60th anniversary of its first sitting on Sunday, a study done by Express reveals that a majority of Members of Parliament are found to be wanting in terms of attendance in the Lower House - the Lok Sabha.
The study - done among first-timer MPs - shows that the performing MPs in the Lower House are those who rarely hog media limelight. Also, politicians who flaunt their political lineage do not find a place in the list at all. Only some 20 MPs among the first-timers score over 95 per cent or above while attending the House, the study has shown. This figure translates into a mere 6.7 per cent of the total first-timer MPs.
The 15th Lok Sabha has 296 first-timer MPs out of total present strength of 543. Of the 296 first-timer MPs, four MPs - K P Dhanapalan (of the Congress, representing Chalakudy in Kerala), Arjun Ram Meghwal (of the BJP, representing Bikaner in Rajasthan), P T Thomas (of the Congress, representing Idukki in Kerala) and Ramesh Kumar (of the Congress, representing South Delhi) - have not missed the House even for a single day in the entire term, according to PRS Legislative Research.
However, attendance in itself is arguably not the complete parameter for judging an MP’s performance in the House. Some of them like Congress’ Ramesh Kumar may have a 100 per cent attendance record in the House, but has failed to ask even a single question or take part in a single debate.
Taking into consideration the numbers of questions asked, number of debates participated in, and number of private Bills moved, the study finds that the performing MPs are the ones who rarely make it to headlines.
Topping the list is BJP’s Arjun Ram Meghwal, who has asked 389 questions, taken part in 251 debates, and moved 13 private Bills so far.
Congress’ P T Thomas ranks second, when subjected to all four parameters - he has asked 282 questions so far, taken part in 92 debates, and moved seven private Bills. BJP’s Mahendrasinh Chauhan, representing Sabarkantha in Gujarat, is a close third in terms of all four parameters - the BJP MP has asked 446 questions, participated in 69 debates, and moved two private member’s Bills. He has an attendance record of 99 per cent.
Another BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal, representing Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, has asked 159 questions, and taken part in 66 debates, besides moving two private member’s Bills. He also has an attendance record of 99 per cent.
Most of the MPs, however, do not move any private member’s Bill at all - 15 out of top 20 in terms of attendance have zero private member’s Bill to their credit. However, they are fairly regular in asking questions in the House.
Janata Dal (United’s) Kaushalendra Kumar, representing Nalanda in Bihar, has asked 328 questions so far. He has a 97 per cent attendance record. Congress’ K P Dhanapalan has asked 248 questions so far, while his party colleague Mahesh Joshi, representing Jaipur in Rajasthan, has 246 questions to his credit and has an attendance record of 95 per cent. Samajwadi Party’s Ghanshyam Anuragi, who represents Jalaun in Uttar Pradesh, has asked 241 questions so far.