Actor Rekha Makes Appearance In Parliament
NEW DELHI : Actor Rekha and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were pilloried for their abysmal attendance in Parliament last week. Sachin will not amend that record very soon but Rekha today decided to show up.The sight of the 59-year-old Bollywood veteran in the Rajya Sabha today had the corridors of Parliament abuzz about the special appearance. She sat through question hour.
Last week, it was pointed out that Sachin attended the house just for three days and Rekha, just seven days since they were nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 in recognition of their contribution to the country.Both are short of the 60-day mark that can leave a chronically absent member’s seat “vacant”.
Sachin was on Monday granted permission to remain absent for the rest of this session, which ends on Thursday. He has not attended a single session this year and has not participated in any debates in the house ever.Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said the 41-year-old cricketer had been exempted for professional and personal reasons cited by him.
Celebrity parliamentarians are notorious for their poor attendance. But Sachin Tendulkar probably has the worst record of all.Date of MPs’ attendance data till July 25 revealed that Bollywood star Hema Malini, a contemporary of Rekha, had not attended the first session of the newly elected Lok Sabha at all. Neither has Bengali actor Tapas Pal.Since the report came out two weeks ago, Hema Malini has been a frequently seen in Parliament.
