Ahmedabad, 28 December 2011

Six Congress Members of Parliament(MPs) in Lok Sabha, elected from Gujarat were absent during the crucial voting on the Lokpal Bill and the Constitutional Status Bill to the Lokpal in the Lok Sabha yesterday night.

Shri Jagdish Thakor, MP from north Gujarat’s Patan was absent due to accidental death of his sun-in-law few days back in Ahmedabad’s Naroda area, while minister of state Shri Dinsha Patel, the MP from Kheda constituency in Gujarat was absent because his daughter was getting married.

According to sources, as many as four other Congress MPs Kunvarji Bavaliya(Rajkot), Vikram Madam(Jamnagar), Kishan Patel(Valsad) and Vitthal Radadia(Porbandar) had gone to attend the reception party of wedding of Dinsha Patel’s daughter and therefore they were absent. However it has to be checked whether this is fact or they were absent for some other reasons.

These four MPs have been pulled up by Congress leadership. A show cause notice will be issued to them for their absence during the debate and voting yesterday night on the bill granting Constitutional status to the Lokpal. This bill was Congress General Secretary’s brainchild and its defeat in the Lok Sabha is being seen as a huge setback for him.

It is wellknown that UPA doesn’t enjoy 2/3rd majority in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, but the most embarrassing fact was that, the ruling alliance was short of simple half-mark majority in Lok Sabha on three occasions within an hour yesterday evening. UPA needs 273 seats to rule the country which is half mark in Lok Sabha. However yesterday on three occasions, UPA couldn’t cross even 250 mark when voting happened in the Lok Sabha. BJP demanded that the govt should step down while Congress leaders clarified that they had majority but some MPs were in lobby and some were absent. In total 27 MPs didn’t turn up.

Dinsha clarifies

When asked about his absence, Gujarat MP and union minister Shri Dinsha Patel clarified that he had written a letter well in advance to concerned minister informing that he would not be able to attend the house on 26-27th of December due to wedding and reception function of his daughter. On Jagdish Thakor’s absence, Patel said that his 32-year old young son-in-law died in accident. This was very shocking incident in his life and therefore he is absent in ongoing session of parliament.