Joshi, Kamal Nath join 'no question, no debate' brigade of Lok Sabha

Congress warhorse Kamal Nath or BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi are sure bets to take on opponents during any argument but curiously, they are among 50 MPs of the Lok Sabha who have not participated in a single debate in the past one year in the Lok Sabha.

Joshi, a six-term MP who is apparently sulking for being sidelined in the Narendra Modi regime, also form part of 26 MPs who have not either asked a question or participated in a debate in the Lok Sabha in the past one year.

The ‘no question, no debate’ brigade also include top JMM leader Shibu Soren, filmstar-turned politicians Shatrughnan Sinha (BJP) and Moon Moon Sen (TMC) and former footballer Prasun Banerjee (TMC).

An analysis of the data prepared by the PRS Legislative Research shows this and other interesting facts about the performance of MPs in the first year of 16th Lok Sabha.

Twenty-four MPs have an attendance below 50 per cent with Bengali superstar Dev in the bottom of the list with eight per cent attendance.

On the positive note, 43 MPs have attended all the sittings in the first year while several have more than 90 per cent attendance.

Kerala MPs seem to be more active during debates as five out of their 20 MPs figure in the top ten list of debaters. BJP’s Rajasthan MP P P Chaudhary, who attended all sittings, tops the chart making 176 speeches during debates followed by his party colleague from UP BPO Mishra with 158 speeches. From Congress, leader Mallikarjun Kharge is the top debater with a rank of 22 by making 62 speeches during debates.

Around 60 MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, H D Deve Gowda and Dimple Yadav, have not asked a single question in the past one year.