Venkaiah Naidu annoyed at MPs skipping parliamentary panel meetings, will meet chairpersons

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu has called a meeting of all Rajya Sabha parliamentary committee chairpersons on 29 November to discuss low MP attendance.

File photo of Venkaiah Naidu | PTI

New Delhi: Concerned over MPs frequently skipping parliamentary panel meetings, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has called chairpersons of all Parliamentary Standing Committees of the Upper House on 29 November to discuss the matter.

Officials at the Rajya Sabha secretariat have confirmed that Naidu has called chairpersons of 12 Rajya Sabha and eight department-related standing committees.

“Rajya Sabha chairman was concerned by MP’s frequent absenteeism from the meetings of the Parliamentary Standing Committees,” an official said.

The official also said these committees were set up to discuss and review important policies and pressing issues related to governance. “Skipping such meetings defeats the whole purpose.”

Referring the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019 to a select committee on 21 November, Naidu had remarked: “Some amount of seriousness has to come into the deliberations of the standing committee and select committee.”

He had also asked the chairperson of this select committee, which will deal with the ban on commercial surrogacy bill, to give details of members’ attendance in the meetings while submitting the report to him.

Rules permit removal of MP due to absenteeism

The meeting called by Naidu also comes days after most members of the parliamentary panel on urban development had skipped a meeting on 15 November to discuss the rising pollution levels in Delhi.

Of the 29 members in the panel, headed by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, only three had turned up. This happened at a time when the capital is reeling under severe pollution levels and the government has failed to find solutions to curb it. BJP MP Gautam Gambhir of Delhi also could not make it to the meeting.

Rajya Sabha rules consist of a provision wherein a committee chairperson can remove a member if she/he remains absent from two consecutive meetings without permission.

“This rule has, however, not been invoked so far. If members continue to skip meetings, then the chairman can be told to invoke the provision,” said the Rajya Sabha official.