He reasons: Had gone to London,then got busy with court hearings
City MP Suresh Kalmadi attended only five of the 19 days at the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament,according to details uploaded on the official website of Parliament. The MP told The Indian Express,I could not attend the Session as I had gone to London on July 29 and after returning on August 14,I got busy with court hearings.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament began on August 8 and concluded on September 7. In the last Session which took place from March to May,Kalmadi was present for 29 out of 35 days.
The details available on the website show that Kalmadi had signed the roster on August 23,24 and 27 and on September 6 and 7. On August 17,when Parliament was in session,Kalmadi was at Pune railway station,appealing people from Northeast states not to leave the city. He was also absent for the session on August 16,21 and 22,besides others.
Best of Express Premium
According to Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha,an MP who wants to remain absent during the Session needs to submit an application to the Speaker informing about his absence. Kalmadi said,I have not written an application to the Speaker,however,my absence will be conveyed to the House by the court.
Presence of an MP during a Parliament session is important for the supplementary questions that he/she can ask for his starred questions. In all,Kalmadi has asked 11 un-starred questions,besides a starred one on August 24. Two questions were related to Pune one about setting up a centre consisting 200 commandos in Pune,while the other one was about the status of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) in the city.
According to a senior political analyst,the Session provides an opportunity to an MP to lobby with the ministers for various demands pertaining to his/her constituency. Procedurally speaking,an MP has to attend the Session. If he is a member of any Parliamentary Committee,then his presence is even more required. Asking the MP to attend the Parliament session is thus a legitimate demand from the citizens of his constituency, said the analyst.
But Kalmadi said he has been lobbying for the city. I am the only MP who has received Rs 2,500 crore under JNNURM. I have already met the Defence Minister and the Railway Minister and have been pushing the Airport and the Pune Metro cases respectively, he said.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
