After holding a meeting with chairpersons of parliamentary standing committees, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday pulled up MPs of both the Houses of Parliament for their low attendance in meetings. He also urged the leaders of all political parties to ensure the quantitative and qualitative functioning of these panels.

Naidu said that only 18 members each from both the houses of Parliament attended eight Rajya Sabha committees’ meetings since being reconstituted in September this year.

“I expect the number of members of this House with full attendance in the meetings of the committees to rise,” he said in the Upper House.

He further said that each member of the department-related standing committee represents 25 members of Parliament while deliberating in the committee. If one member is absent, the voice of 25 MPs would not be heard.

“I, hence, appeal to leaders of all the parties and members of this august House to ensure quantitative and qualitative functioning of these committees in whom the Parliament has vested an important responsibility of functioning on its behalf,” he added.

Naidu said that the eight Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) which were constituted in September had held 41 meetings since then. An analysis of attendance in all these 41 meetings revealed a disturbing trend.

On these eight committees, a total of 80 members of Rajya Sabha are represented. Out of these 80 members, 18 members have attended all the meetings of respective committees since September, he said.

Similarly, 18 of the total 168 Lok Sabha members represented on these eight committees have also attended all the meetings.

The DRSCs have been conceived, Naidu said, as an effective instrument of enabling detailed scrutiny of legislative proposals, besides focused and detailed examination of various issues chosen by these committees for reporting in a bipartisan manner, which may not always be possible in both the Houses of Parliament.

To motivate other members, Naidu listed out the names of 18 members of the Upper House who had 100 per cent attendance in the meetings of Parliamentary panels.

However, a Congress member said the listed names were chairpersons of these committees.

(With inputs from PTI)