By Nasheem Ashraf & Haris Rashid
This article will analyse how the Members of Parliament from the Jammu and Kashmir fared in the 17th Lok Sabha. We use data from PRS Legislative Research on attendance, questions asked, and participation in debates to analyse the performance of the MPs. For the 17th Lok Sabha, the national average attendance was 79%, the number of questions asked by an MP on an average was 210 and the number of debates that an MP participated in on average was 47.
All three MPs representing constituencies in the Kashmir Division belonged to Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) while all the MPs representing the two constituencies of the Jammu Division belonged to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mohammad Akbar Lone
Mohammad Akbar Lone, representing Baramulla constituency has a 41% attendance in 17th Lok Sabha. He has asked 5 questions and participated in 6 debates during the entire 5 years of 17th Lok Sabha. However, all questions asked/answered happened within a span of 10 days- from 2 March 2020 to 12 March 2020. Apart from this, Lone missed all 5 sessions, including a special session and two budget sessions, starting winter session 2023.
However, to his credit, Akbar Lone’s attendance was much better than his predecessor Muzaffar Hussain Baig of PDP who represented Baramulla constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha. Baig had 11% attendance, asked 19 questions and participated in 3 debates. This time Baig is likely to contest as an independent candidate from either Baramulla or Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
Farooq Abdullah, Srinagar
Farooq Abdullah, representing the Srinagar constituency has 61% attendance in 17th Lok Sabha. He asked 11 questions and participated 11 debates. Similar to Mohammad Akbar Lone, Abdullah asked all questions within a span of 10 days from 8 July 2019 to 18 July 2019.
Two of the questions Abdullah asked during his current term were repeats from his last term and had already been asked in December 2018. One of these questions was asked thrice within a span of 7 months.
Hasnain Masoodi, Anantnag
The only MP who stands out from the Kashmir Division is first-timer Hasnain Masoodi, representing the erstwhile Anantnag constituency. He has 85% attendance, asked 73 questions and participated in 126 debates. He is the only MP from Kashmir division whose attendance as well as participation in debates was above the national average.
Jugal Kishore, Jammu
BJP’s Jugal Kishore, representing Jammu constituency has 88% attendance, asked 310 questions and participated in 63 debates. Even though he belongs to the ruling party, he asked the most questions of all the MPs from Jammu and Kashmir.
For the 5th MP, Dr. Jitendra Singh representing the Udhampur constituency, data is not available as he is a Minister of State.
Why Does it Matter?
Since 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir was made into a Union Territory, the Parliament had to contend with every aspect of its governance. All the budgets for the UT were presented within the hallowed halls of Parliament. Additionally, the introduction of four new languages as the UT’s official languages, while stripping Urdu of its sole official recognition, underscored a period of profound change. In this tumultuous era, several bills were tabled, aiming to extend the reach of reservation to encompass more communities and to provide reservation for OBCs in local body elections. The dichotomous nature of the times endured by Jammu and Kashmir resonates with Charles Dickens’ profound words from A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’ ‘it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.’ Moreover, Dickens’ insight is particularly apt when reflecting on how ‘some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.’ Indeed, amidst the complex realities of governance and societal change, there existed a tendency among influential voices to view developments in the extreme, without nuance or consideration of the multifaceted challenges faced by the region. In this context, it held significant importance whether the Members of Parliament (MPs) from Jammu and Kashmir attended parliament, asked questions, and participated in debates.
Moreover, MPs serve as elected representatives entrusted by citizens to voice concerns, address issues, and legislate on their behalf. Regular attendance in Parliament is essential for fulfilling their duty of effectively representing constituents’ interests. Additionally, as the three MPs from JKNC were in opposition, they had a critical role in overseeing the government, holding it accountable through questioning and debates.
As the Lok Sabha elections approach, voters should take into consideration the candidates’ parliamentary performance and utilize their voting power effectively to compel politicians to shed complacency.
- Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
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