Sonia cracks whip on truant MPs

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has cracked the whip on errant party MPs who skipped Question Hour in Lok Sabha on Monday, leading to collapse of the proceedings within 30 minutes of assembly.  Of the 34 MPs who had listed questions for the proceedings and were absent, seven were Congressmen.

Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Paban Singh Ghatowar, has been asked to contact the truant Congress MPs and ask them the reason for their absence.

Party sources said parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal sent a strongly worded note asking the errant MPs to be regular not just during Question Hour, but also during parliamentary proceedings.

“The Congress president has reiterated her stand that the MPs must keep in mind that they were elected to parliament by the people so that they raise people’s issues and not bunk proceedings,” a Congress leader said.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “The collapse of Question Hour on Monday was unfortunate and a rare aberration.”

Congress MP Shruti Choudhary, who was among the absentees, said, “It was a lesson to learn.”  Another absentee, Madhu Goud Yaskhi, said he had apologised.

Also absent were Harsh Vardhan, Anto Antony, PT Thomas, Kodikkunnil Suresh, Jhansi Lakshmi and Eknath Gaikawad.