As per the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of India, 12 members are nominated by the President of India to the Rajya Sabha, for six-years term for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services, with the hope that they will be able to positively contribute to the nation. In 2012, two such celebrities were nominated to Rajya Sabha for a six-year term which ends in 2018. They were India’s evergreen (with a lot of makeup) actress Rekha and Cricket God, Sachin Tendulkar. Six years later, taking an account of their performances as Rajya Sabha members, brings in nothing but wasteful expenditure on tax payers.

In the past six years, out of the 400 Rajya Sabha sessions, Rekha attended only 18, that is an attendance rate of only 4.5%. In that 18 sessions, she never opened her mouth and needless to say never brought in any Bill before the Parliament or did anything that is required of her as an MP. But happily took home Rs 99.59 Lakhs for her services to the nation as a Member of Parliament. What a waste of money.

But Sachin’s performance is slightly better than Rekha as he managed to attend 29 sessions of Rajya Sabha out of the 400 and asked 22 questions. He has an attendance rate of 7.3%. In 2014, two years after his stint as an MP, he came under barrage of criticism for his absenteeism and for not spending even a cent from the MP’s fund MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) Scheme. Since then, his performance improved slightly, as at least he started spending money from MP’s fund for community projects. He made allocations for flood relief in Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu and rebuilding a school and bridge in Chamoli in the aftermath of the Uttarakhand floods. He also sanctioned Rs. 25 lakhs from the MPLAD scheme for setting up a digital X-ray unit at Ernakulam Government General Hospital. Sonia Gandhi’s Raebareli was also handed down 2 Crores from his MP fund. Under Prime Minister’s Adarsh Gram Yojna, Sachin also adopted  two villages. Sachin happily took home Rs 85 Lakhs for his poor performance.

The two non- performers, Rekha and Sachin will retire from Parliament on 26^th April. Let us hope the BJP Government will replace the retiring members with people of substance than just relying only on big names.

An Update to the Article

New Delhi:  Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, whose term as Rajya Sabha MP ended recently, has donated his entire salary and allowances to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
In his past six years as Rajya Sabha MP, Mr Tendulkar has drawn nearly Rs. 90 lakh in salaries and other monthly allowances.
The PMO has appreciated the gesture by Mr Tendulkar. “Prime Minister acknowledges this thoughtful gesture and conveys his gratitude. These contributions will be of immense help in providing assistance to the persons in distress.”