Tendulkar, Rekha worst in attendance of nominated MPs

NEW DELHI: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress Rekha are the worst performers in attendance in the Rajya Sabha 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.
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 and 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 were nominated in 2016.
Apart from Tendulkar and Rekha the nominated Rajya Sabha MPs are: industrialist Anu Aga; lawyers K. Parasaran and K.T.S. Tulsi; social worker Sambhaji Chhatrapati; journalist Swapan Das Gupta; actress Roopa Ganguly; economist Narendra Jadhav; sportsperson M.C. Mary Kom; actor Suresh Gopi and politician Subramanian Swamy.
Tendulkar and Rekha have not participated in a single debate in their nearly five-year stint in the Rajya Sabha. (IANS)