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Amit Shah sets new record in absence from Parliament session
KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 9/24/2020 9:40:19 AM
NEW DELHI, Sep 23: Amit Shah(55) perhaps became the first home minister of India to set a new record of being in absentia from Parliament in the monsoon session that ended sine die on Wednesday after 10 sittings held under new norms braving the spread of the Coronavirus.
He has been in and out of hospitals since after testing positive of Covid-19 on August 2. He went to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on September 12 for a check-up, but stayed put for five days, returning home here Thursday night. He, however, did not venture out, not even to the Parliament House fully sanitised.
A score of Bills related to the home ministry were listed against his name, two of them in the Rajya Sabha on the last day on Wednesday but they were handled by his ministers of state in lieu of his absence.
Many members applied for leave of absence during the current session or for some days during the session, but Shah didn't send even the leave application to the Lok Sabha to skip the monsoon session. The Constitution provides for disqualification of a MP if he/she is absent continuously for 60 days from either House of Parliament without permission.
The Bills listed against Shah's name on Wednesday were for amendment of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill to declare use of five languages for the official purpose in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Replying to the debate on the FCRA Bill, MoS Nityanand Rai said it was felt necessary to prevent the foreign money overshadow political, social and public life in India by bringing strict rules for the NGOs. Rai talked of how dear was the Bill to Amit Shah, noting that he wanted the NGOs to flourish in serving the society while weeding out the black sheep misusing foreign donations for own comforts.