Actor Rekha attended Parliament today after being criticised for poor attendance
Actor Rekha and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were pilloried for their abysmal attendance in Parliament last week. Sachin will not correct that record very soon but Rekha today decided to show up.
The sight of the 59-year-old Bollywood veteran in the Rajya Sabha today had the corridors of Parliament abuzz about the special appearance.
She came in a cream coloured sari, hands folded, and smiled for the cameras as she entered the building.
She sat through Question Hour in what is her eighth appearance since she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012.
Last week, Left parliamentarian P Rajeeve pointed out in the house that Rekha had come to Parliament just seven days and Sachin, only three days.
They were both nominated to the upper house by the Manmohan Singh government in recognition of their achievement in their fields.
Both are short of the 60-day mark that can leave a chronically absent member's seat "vacant".
"Rekha has come earlier also. It is not that she has come for the first time," Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said today.
Sachin was on Monday granted permission to remain absent for the rest of this session, which ends on Thursday. He has not attended a single session this year and has not participated in any debates in the house ever.
(Excused. Sachin Tendulkar Permitted to Skip Parliament)Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said the 41-year-old cricketer had been exempted for professional and personal reasons cited by him.
Celebrity parliamentarians are notorious for their poor attendance. But Sachin Tendulkar probably has the worst record of all.
(Unacceptable,Say MPs About Sachin Tendulkar And Rekha's Poor Show in Parliament)
Nationalist Congress Party leader DP Tripathi had said scathingly, "By their behaviour and continued absence, they have insulted Parliament and Indian Constitution. Such people should have never been nominated to this august house. I pity those MPs who get themselves clicked with Rekha and Sachin."