Cong issues whip to be present in Rajya Sabha, 'quite a few' choose to ignore it

A three-line whip was issued to ensure attendance in Rajya Sabha but "quite a few" of them chose to ignore it, while some among them found an ingenious way to skip the proceedings by not turning up in the afternoon.

A fresh whip was issued for Thursday's proceedings by the party's Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh, asking members to be present for the entire day.

A similar whip was issued for Wednesday's proceedings but the attendance rose marginally only and among them, some of them did not turn for proceedings in the afternoon.

This prompted Ramesh to note in the whip issued to MPs, "I regret to point out that quite a few MPs do not follow this whip, especially for the afternoon session. Please ensure (your) presence for the day without fail."

Congress started issuing whips after several MPs did not attend the joint march on Tuesday organised in solidarity with the suspended MPs and their absence in the House impacting the protest.

There has been criticism from some quarters of the Opposition that Congress was not putting its full weight behind the protest. A section of the senior Congress leaders are for the suspended MPs expressing regret and moving on, another section of leaders are not for any compromise on the issue of suspension.