Sachin, Rekha must resign from RS if not interested: Agarwal

Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal on Thursday said Rajya Sabha members like Sachin Tendulkar and actress Rekha should resign if they were not interested in attending the house.

He was pointing to the continued absence of the nominated Rajya Sabha members.

As soon as the upper house met, Agarwal raised a point of order and said: "We have been yearning to see the presence of the nominated members. They never come to the house. The entire session is over but we haven't seen them, be it Sachin Tendulkar or film actress Rekha or the others.

"If they are not coming, this means they have no interest in attending (Parliament). If they don't have interest, then they should resign," he added.

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien told Agarwal that it was no point of order and that he should "use your good office with them".

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi remarked that it was not point of order but a "point of disorder".

To this Kurien agreed and told Agarwal to write to Sachin and Rekha.

Both Rekha and Tendulkar have earlier too faced criticism for their dismal attendance.

Later, Agarwal told reporters: "Parliament is a great place to learn so many things. I learnt many valuable lessons of life here. So I feel if the nominated members inclusing Tendulkar and Rekha are here they can learn a lot and we can also learn from them."

Besides Rekha and Tendulkar, the 12 nominated members to the upper house include Olympian boxer M.C. Mary Kom, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and businesswoman Anu Aga.

--IANS

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