Full House, but only for photo-ops

NEW DELHI: Newcomers Shatrughan Sinhaand Lata Mangeshkar are not the only ones guilty of it. When it comes to playinghookey in Parliament, the list is long, with names of many warhorses figuring init. According to Parliament regulars, the usual suspects include P Sangma,S C Shukla, Dilip Kumar, Vijay Mallaya, Kartar Singh Duggal, Praful Patel, RajBabbar, Dinanath Mishra, Rajnath Singh, Keshubhai Patel and others.Duringthe present session, both Houses of Parliament had to be adjourned twice becauseof lack of quorum. The only day when full attendance was recorded this year wason November 27, when a group photograph of all the MPs had to betaken."Most of the time the Rajya Sabha functions with only 20 active MPspresent and speaking on key issues," says Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupam. His ownamendment to the Depresentation of People Act could not be discussed on Fridaybecause of lack of quorum. "I had put in a request for this question one yearago. MPs not interested should resign and stay at home." Another important billon non-productive assets of banks was passed by the Lok Sabha with only 38members present.Agrees Maneka Gandhi: "What frightens me is not the lackof attendance as much as the casual approach to issues. A crucial bill onbio-diversity was passed in just 15 minutes."If absenteeism by MPs isrampant in both Houses, it''s probably because they can get away with it: ourparliamentarians are bound to make an appearance only once in six months. "Thisis a Constitutional provision. MPs need to come and sign the attendance registeronce in the course of two parliamentary sessions (six months). Otherwise theywill lose their membership," confirms parliamentary affairs minister PramodMahajan.With a rule like this, can MPs be blamed for putting up a guestappearance? "If the subject is not of my interest, why should I attend?"justifies BJP MP Dinanath Mishra. Renuka Choudhary blames coalition politics fordisinterest in attending Parliament. "Coalition politics is very divisive. Halfthe time ministers are absent. Even when they do give replies, their responsesare shallow and inadequate."Not good news for the taxpayer. Every minuteof Parliament costs us Rs 25 lakhs; Per day, it works out to Rs 1.25 crore. Whenit comes to their pay-packets, an MP''s monthly salary, with allowances, isaround Rs 41,000. In addition, they are allowed 1.5 lakh free phone calls onthree phones, free electricity, water, rail and air fare, subsidisedaccommodation, free medical care, pension, plus Rs 10 crore per five years fortheir Local Area Development Scheme. We will have absenteeismamong MPs so long as many of our parliamentarians continue to regard the houseas a personal jagirdari — much like the absentee landlords of the 19thcentury.