This is Sachin Tendulkar's first attempt at initiating a debate in the upper house
Sachin Tendulkar, criticised for his poor attendance in parliament, will speak in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. The cricket legend is scheduled to speak in the house at 2 pm to initiate a discussion on the right to play and the future of sports in India.
This is Mr Tendulkar's first attempt at initiating a debate in the upper house, where he has been a member for five years and is a year short of completing his term.
The master batsman, who had been nominated to the Upper House in 2012, had been frequently criticized for his long absences. The reproofs have become sharper since his retirement from international cricket in 2013.
His
last appearance in Rajya Sabha was in August, but he had not spoken, choosing to listen instead to the discussions during the Zero Hour and the Question Hour. Two days before that, Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agarwal had raised the issue of absenteeism among the nominated lawmakers in the upper house and criticised him and Bollywood actor Rekha. Some of the members had even suggested that their continued absence was an "insult" to the house and they should resign.
In April, an analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal, said the two have the worst performance when it came to attending parliament sessions.
Till then, Mr Tendulkar had attended 23 of the 348 days the house had functioned. Ms Rekha has attended Rajya Sabha for only 18 days, the report had said.
As per Article 104 of the Constitution, if a member is absent from either House of Parliament for a period of 60 days then the seat is considered vacant.