Tendulkar, Rekha worst in attendance among 12 nominated Rajya Sabha MPs

While Tendulkar has attended 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012, Rekha has attended 18

 

Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and yesteryear actress Rekha are the worst performers in attendance in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) among the 12 nominated members, according to an analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal.

While Tendulkar has attended 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012, Rekha has attended 18. Further, Rekha has not attended more than a single day in any session since her nomination in 2012.

While Rekha attended the least number of days compared to those who were nominated along with her, the expenditure incurred on her is the highest till date: Rs 65 lakh as salary and expenses. Expenditure incurred on Tendulkar is Rs 58.8 lakh, according to Rajya Sabha data.

 

This translates to an expenditure of Rs 360,000 per day incurred on Rekha and Rs 256,000 per day on Tendulkar.
The difference in the expenditure is only because of the allowances, since all other components are fixed for every member (MP). If a particular MP attended the house more often than others and has travelled more extensively than others, the expenditure incurred on him/her would be high. In Rekha’s case, it is the opposite.

Each MP is entitled to the following:

• Salary (Rs 50,000 per month)
• Constituency allowance (Rs 45,000 per month)
• Office expense allowance (Rs 15,000 per month)
• Travel & Daily Allowance (TA/DA) (variable)

There are 12 nominated members in the Rajya Sabha. While two other MPs were nominated in 2012 along with Tendulkar and Rekha, one was nominated in 2014 and the remaining seven were nominated in 2016. Four of the nominated members joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and are counted as BJP members in the house. A nominated member can join a political party within the first six months of being nominated to the house, according to the rules.

12 Nominated Rajya Sabha MPs

Name	Date of Nomination	Field	Party
Anu Aga	4/27/12	Industrialist	Nominated
Rekha	4/27/12	Actress	Nominated
Sachin Tendulkar	4/27/12	Cricketer	Nominated
K Parasaran	6/29/12	Lawyer	Nominated
K T S Tulsi (Sal since March 2014)	2/25/14	Lawyer	Nominated
Sambhaji Chhatrapati	6/13/16	Social Worker	BJP
Swapan Das Gupta	4/25/16	Journalist	Nominated
Roopa Ganguly	10/4/16	Actress	BJP
Narendra Jadhav	4/25/16	Economist	Nominated
M C Mary Kom	4/25/16	Sports Person	Nominated
Suresh Gopi	4/25/16	Actor	BJP
Subramanian Swamy	4/25/16	Politician	BJP

These members are nominated by the President based on the advice of the government of the day. Article 80(3) of the Constitution of India authorises the President to nominate a maximum of 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the members nominated shall have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art and social service.(READ FULL STORY)