95 out of 244 MPs on parliamentary committees skipped all meetings, says Venkaiah Naidu

New Delhi: As many as 95 MPs did not attend even a single meeting of the parliamentary standing committees that reviewed allocations for different ministries post-presentation of the Union Budget for 2020-21 fiscal, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday.

The two dozen department-related parliamentary standing committees, with 244 MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, considered Demands for Grants of all the ministries during the three-week recess following the Budget presentation.

Giving an account of the meetings of these panels on the opening day of the Rajya Sabha after the recess, Naidu said, "95 members, accounting for 39 percent of the total 244, did not attend any meeting on the Demands for Grants. Only 28 members had zero attendance last time".

Of the 78 Rajya Sabha MPs on these committees, 23, or 29 percent, did not attend any meeting as against 11 such members in the last review in December. Out of 166 Lok Sabha MPs, 78, or 47 percent, were absent in all meetings of these panels against 72 MPs in the last review, he said.

Naidu said since the introduction of department-related parliamentary standing committees in 1993, substantial work of Parliament is being transacted by these panels which have members from all parties and work in a nonpartisan manner.

The meetings of these panels make up for the about 30 sittings of Parliament and fill the void created by the decline in the number of days when the Parliament meets - on 60-70 days in a year from earlier 100 or more, he said, adding that the three-week recess was meant for 24 department-related parliamentary standing committees to consider Demands for Grants of all the Ministries as proposed in the Budget presented on February 1.