It was a varied bunch in LS from Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: They may not have matched Laloo Prasad Yadav. But 16 out of the 26 outgoing MPs from Gujarat did not seem to have taken the ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’ slogan seriously.
They form a motley group with their CVs showing a wide variation — with their ages varying from 43 to 77 and education from non-matriculate to a degree in medicine.
And, if one has widely travelled — having visited as many as 20 countries — some have remained grounded in India throughout their terms.
The adage “old is gold� seems to be in vogue with all except three MPs who are above 50. If the youngest is 43-year-old Dahod MP Babubhai Katara, deputy prime minister L K Advani leads the pack at 77. Next is Congress MP from Surendranagar Savshi Makwana who is 72.
Five MPs could not even clear their high school. While 19 are graduates, five of them managed to get their Master’s degree.
Two MPs were educated outside India. Advani, who was born in Sindh in Pakistan, had his education from the D G National College in Hyderabad (now in Pakistan) and later from the Government Law College in Mumbai.
Congress MP from Sabarkantha Madhusudan Mistry had his higher education from Oxford University in the UK. BJP MP from Rajkot Vallabh Kathiria is the only one to wield a scalpel.
Kathiria took his medical degree from B J Medical College in Ahmedabad. As for children, just two MPs — Rajendrasinh Rana from Bhavnagar and Bhavnaben Chikhalia from Junagadh — have a single child.
And both are from the BJP. However, BJP MPs also take the cake for having the most number of children. BJP’s Valsad MP Manibhai Chaudhary and Kashiram Rana from Surat have six children each.
As far as profession is concerned, the MPs seem to have an affinity for teaching and wearing black coats. Six are lawyers, while four are teachers. Fifteen are also agriculturists. Social service and politics are inseparable. Seventeen MPs quoted their profession as ‘political and social worker’.
Where going abroad is concerned, our MPs can’t be left behind. A dozen of them have travelled out of India. Leading the list is Bhavnaben Chikalia who has been to 20 countries, closely followed by Kashiram Rana who has been to about 15 countries.
Three MPs had been to jail during Emergency. Harin Pathak from Ahmedabad was jailed about 20 times for leading public agitation. Advani and Shankersinh Vaghela are others who were sent to jail during 1976-77.