Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to
accept nomination of Rajya Sabha has come in for heavy criticism from the
public. Soon after the news was reported, the Twitter world went berserk, and hashtag
#UnfollowSachin was trending Worldwide. Opinion polls such as those on The Times of India website indicate three - fourth's of the people disapprove of the development. Media reactions were more restrained, trying
to balance criticism with respect for Sachin the cricketer. Journalists writing
in the print media used euphemistic tones, “cautioning” Sachin about the
“challenges” that lay ahead. The electronic media did what it does best – organize debates without adding anything of value. Political
reactions were of course, the worst, ranging from purely hypocritical to
downright ridiculous. The Communist Party of India (CPI), for instance, demanded
that Sourav Ganguly should also be nominated to the House, as if they are
building a cricket team in Parliament.
But is the pessimism surrounding
Sachin’s nomination justified?
Performance data of
Members of Parliament (MPs) is now available online. The data assesses performance
of all the MPs along parameters such as asking questions, participation in debates, including raising important issues, introduction of Private Member’s Bills and attendance in Parliament. I downloaded the data and looked
for how celebrities have done. Data indicates that performance of celebrities in
the current Lok Sabha is mixed, and generally ranges from poor to below
average.
Performance of celebrities in the
current Lok Sabha (till 31st
March 2012 )
Name
|
Debate
|
Pvt. Member’s Bills
|
Questions
|
Attendance
|
Jaya Prada
|
19
|
0
|
366
|
32%
|
Kirti Azad
|
17
|
0
|
140
|
92%
|
Navjyot Sidhu
|
3
|
0
|
99
|
29%
|
Shatrughan Sinha
|
3
|
0
|
66
|
74%
|
Azharuddin
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
77%
|
Raj Babbar*
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
70%
|
National Average
|
23
|
0.4
|
177
|
78%
|
(*Term started on 10/11/2009 , for all others
18/05/2009 )
(Source: www.sansadratna.in)
Jaya Prada, for example has recorded
only 32 percent attendance in Parliament, though has asked a lot of questions. Kirti Azad has been present in Parliament 92% of the time, but has scored slightly below
the national average in participation in debates and asking questions. Sidhu has
neither attended Parliament much nor taken part in debates, while Azharuddin
and Raj Babbar have been little more than spectators.
Of course, the above metrics may
not be perfect. For example, ‘attendance’ only means signing the Attendance
Register for the day and does not mean the member was present for the whole day
and listened with rapt attention to what was going on. There can also be other
parameters on which an MP can be judged, but this is the best data that is currently available.
In another article, The Times of
India has also drawn the similar conclusions about nominees to the Rajya Sabha,
though it only quotes the attendance record in its support.
Attendance record of some
celebrities in Rajya Sabha
Name
|
Sittings Attended
|
Total sittings
|
Percentage
|
Lata Mangeshkar
|
6
|
170
|
3.53%
|
Mrinal Sen
|
30
|
170
|
17.65%
|
Shabana Azmi
|
113
|
170
|
66.47%
|
Hema Malini
|
50
|
127
|
39.37%
|
Dara Singh
|
76
|
127
|
59.84%
|
(Source: The Times of India)
Personally, there would be nothing wrong if Sachin Tendulkar is entering politics. In fact, Sachin can do a lot of good for
the country if he wants to, and only time will tell what he actually does. But
his accepting the post even before retiring from active cricket has certainly not gone down well the people. It indicates he treats the post merely as an ornamental one. The carefully orchestrated Bharat Ratna media campaign may also get punctured, as Sachin accepts a government largesse which is seen as significantly below his demi-God stature. And then, there is this whole issue of legality of his appointment.
This just isn't cricket, Sachin. Very disappointing.
