Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien on Friday said that cricketer Sachijn Tendulkar and veteran actress Rekha Ganesan have not violated the Constitution by not attending the proceedings in the Upper House regularly.
Replying to a question raised by a Rajya Sabha member, Kurien said that both Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha Ganesan were nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2012, and as per the Constitution, a member of the parliament could only be unseated if he or she had been absent for 60 or more days.
Kurien further revealed that Tendulkar has been absent from the proceedings of the House for about 40 days, while Rekha had been absent for less than that, and therefore, no action could be taken against them as of now.
He said Tendulkar had attended the Rajya Sabha in 2013, while Rekha had last attended on February 9, 2014.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Kirti Azad said that both were duty bound to attend as they had accepted the responsibility that goes with being Rajya Sabha MPs. He said that they should quit if they could not attend. He asked whether Tendulkar had ever missed a minute's practice during his playing days, or whether Rekha had missed a film shooting or a film related event.
Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar said that being a Rajya Sabha member is a responsibility and not a trophy, and added that both Tendulkar and Rekha needed to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard.
Congress Member of Parliament Rajiv Shukla said that he has conveyed 'friendly advice' to both to attend the ongoing parliament session before it ends. He said that Rekha is expected to attend proceedings next week.