Though they have been honoured with Rajya Sabha nominations, Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha have made their disinclination to attend upper house quite evident in the past few weeks. In fact, the cricketer and the actress were so conspicuous by their absence in parliament that other MPs decided to make this an issue last week. Tendulkar has attended parliament for only three days since he was nominated two years ago, while the Bollywood star has been there only eight times.
But not all of the upper house’s nominated members take their roles as parliamentarians so lightly. Several nominated MPs have not only displayed excellent attendance records, they also participated enthusiastically in debates and committee meetings.
According to the rules of the Rajya Sabha, which can have up to 250 members, 12 MPs must be luminaries from the fields of literature, science, arts, sports or social service. These members are nominated by the president for six-year terms. They enjoy all the privileges of other elected MPs, except the right to vote in the election for the president of India.
In the halls of the parliament, however, these powers aren't exercised in quite the same way.
Question Hour, for instance, is dominated by members affiliated to political parties, said filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who served as an MP from 2006 to 2012. Though nominated members of the Rajya Sabha have some time allotted just for them, it isn't very much, so they "would have to be very good at debating and language skills in order to make a difference there", Benegal said.
In the past decade, nominated members have shown varying degrees of participation in terms of asking questions and joining debates. Ram Jethmalani, who asked more than 2,500 questions in the house from 2006 to 2009, was already an active politician before being nominated. Actress Hema Malini (458 questions) and journalist Chandan Mitra (309 questions) went on to become politicians after being nominated.
The most recently nominated members – including Tendulkar, Rekha and businesswoman Anu Aga – have not asked any questions during their tenures so far. But other nominated MPs have fared better in the past ten years.
“In the Rajya Sabha, even though nominated members are like back-benchers, I think that the questions I asked were taken quite seriously, and action was also initiated,” said Mrinal Miri, a philosopher and academician from Assam who was nominated to the house in 2012. “Nominated members can also participate in ‘call attention motions’ if they wish to discuss current issues that have caught the attention of the public.”
Miri says his attendance record stands at around 95%. and that he has raised seven questions so far. He is particularly interested in ensuring that India’s many endangered languages are protected, so has asked questions on that issue twice.
Benegal asked six questions during his tenure, but he explained that raising questions is just one of the three yardsticks by which the performance of a nominated MP should be evaluated. The other two are attendance and participation in one of the many parliamentary committees constituted by the Rajya Sabha for members to discuss specific issues in detail.
“I think committees are where nominated MPs can make huge contributions to the country,” said Benegal, who actively participated in committees that discussed issues related to his field, such as film censorship and copyright laws. “I never felt that my opinions were not paid attention to.”
In fact, Miri – who has been part of a standing committee on social justice and empowerment – believes these panels are a great place to understand the workings of the parliament. “During committee meetings, party lines are often forgotten as members discuss issues,” said Miri.
By failing to attend Rajya Sabha sessions, celebrity nominated MPs miss out not just on asking questions to heads of ministries but also on the opportunity to be on a committee that could herald change.
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But not all of the upper house’s nominated members take their roles as parliamentarians so lightly. Several nominated MPs have not only displayed excellent attendance records, they also participated enthusiastically in debates and committee meetings.
According to the rules of the Rajya Sabha, which can have up to 250 members, 12 MPs must be luminaries from the fields of literature, science, arts, sports or social service. These members are nominated by the president for six-year terms. They enjoy all the privileges of other elected MPs, except the right to vote in the election for the president of India.
In the halls of the parliament, however, these powers aren't exercised in quite the same way.
Question Hour, for instance, is dominated by members affiliated to political parties, said filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who served as an MP from 2006 to 2012. Though nominated members of the Rajya Sabha have some time allotted just for them, it isn't very much, so they "would have to be very good at debating and language skills in order to make a difference there", Benegal said.
In the past decade, nominated members have shown varying degrees of participation in terms of asking questions and joining debates. Ram Jethmalani, who asked more than 2,500 questions in the house from 2006 to 2009, was already an active politician before being nominated. Actress Hema Malini (458 questions) and journalist Chandan Mitra (309 questions) went on to become politicians after being nominated.
The most recently nominated members – including Tendulkar, Rekha and businesswoman Anu Aga – have not asked any questions during their tenures so far. But other nominated MPs have fared better in the past ten years.
“In the Rajya Sabha, even though nominated members are like back-benchers, I think that the questions I asked were taken quite seriously, and action was also initiated,” said Mrinal Miri, a philosopher and academician from Assam who was nominated to the house in 2012. “Nominated members can also participate in ‘call attention motions’ if they wish to discuss current issues that have caught the attention of the public.”
Miri says his attendance record stands at around 95%. and that he has raised seven questions so far. He is particularly interested in ensuring that India’s many endangered languages are protected, so has asked questions on that issue twice.
Benegal asked six questions during his tenure, but he explained that raising questions is just one of the three yardsticks by which the performance of a nominated MP should be evaluated. The other two are attendance and participation in one of the many parliamentary committees constituted by the Rajya Sabha for members to discuss specific issues in detail.
“I think committees are where nominated MPs can make huge contributions to the country,” said Benegal, who actively participated in committees that discussed issues related to his field, such as film censorship and copyright laws. “I never felt that my opinions were not paid attention to.”
In fact, Miri – who has been part of a standing committee on social justice and empowerment – believes these panels are a great place to understand the workings of the parliament. “During committee meetings, party lines are often forgotten as members discuss issues,” said Miri.
By failing to attend Rajya Sabha sessions, celebrity nominated MPs miss out not just on asking questions to heads of ministries but also on the opportunity to be on a committee that could herald change.