After members, it was the turn of Ministers to get a rap from Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu for absenteeism. On Friday, he said no Minister should skip the House without prior information.
When the House convened in the morning, he called out Rajkumar Singh, who was to lay papers for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Mr. Singh’s absence was pointed out by Jairam Ramesh of the Congress.
Mr. Naidu said many members and Ministers were skipping the proceedings without informing him. “Ministers are duty-bound to come. If they take my permission, I will allow other Ministers to lay [papers] on their behalf,” he added.
Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur was also not present, and his colleague Som Parkash wanted to lay the papers on his behalf. But Mr. Naidu objected to it.
On Thursday, Mr. Naidu flagged bunking by members of standing committees.
