NEW DELHI: Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is scheduled to speak in the Upper House of Parliament – the Rajya Sabha – on Thursday, to initiate a discussion on the right to play and the future of sports in India.
Criticised often for his long absences from the Rajya Sabha sessions, this is Tendulkar’s first attempt at initiating a debate in the upper house, where he has been a member for five years and is a year short of completing his term, says a NDTV report.
His last appearance in Rajya Sabha was in August, but he had not spoken, choosing to listen instead to the discussions during the Zero Hour and the Question Hour. Political party leaders had pointed out that continued absence of members like Tendulkar are an ‘insult’ to the house and that they should resign.
Till April this year, Tendulkar had attended 23 of the 348 days the house had functioned, according to an analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal. As per Article 104 of the Indian Constitution, if a member is absent from either House of Parliament for a period of 60 days then the seat is considered vacant.
