KOZHIKODE: With the budget session of the Parliament in sight, people across the state are looking up to their MPs to convey the needs and expectations of the state to the Centre. And judging by performance in the 15th Lok Sabha so far, Idukki MP P T Thomas might be the best person to run to if one wants to be heard in Parliament.Statistics compiled by the legislative research initiative PRS India show that Thomas is the state’s best MP with the best attendance record, participation in most debates and the most number of private member bills presented. Thomas has a 100 per cent attendance record equalled only by Chalakkudy MP K P Dhanapalan and has participated in 83 debates, 17 more than Palakkad MP M B Rajesh, who is next in the list. Thomas is also one of the two state MPs who have introduced private member bills in Parliament, introducing seven bills.“I am extremely happy with my record in Parliament. I raised the Mullaperiyar issue on the first day of the 15th Lok Sabha and was also the first person to put forward the topic of the 100th anniversary of the Jana Gana Mana. And my 100 per cent record is because I have always put Parliament first even when I had pressing private matters to attend to. I hope to continue serving the state in the same vein,” said Thomas.The stats also show that the young MPs of the state are much more active in the Parliament than their more experienced counterparts. Mavelikara MP Kodikunnil Suresh asked a total of 515 questions while Pathanamhitta M P Anto Antony has asked 311 questions. Kottayam MP Jose K Mani also figures in the list of the more active parliamentarians participating in 37 debates and asking 299 questions. Activists who bemoan the step-motherly treatment towards Malabar when it comes to development projects might be better served persuading their MPs to attend Parliament more with stats showing that the five MPs of the region have the five worst attendance records in the state. Kannur MP K Sudhakaran has the worst record attending only 67 per cent of the sessions of the present Lok Sabha, while his Kasaragod counterpart P Karunakaran follows with 73 per cent. M K Raghavan, who represents Kozhikode, has only attended 76 per cent of sessions while Ponnani MP E T Muhammed Basheer does marginally better than him with a 77 per cent record. Wayanad representative M I Shanavas is the best of the Malabar MPs with an 80 per cent record. Attendance figures of Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed are not available as ministers are not required to sign the attendance register in the Lok Sabha. Kollam MP N Peethambara Kurup is the least curious MP in the state asking only four questions during his three years in Parliament while Thrissur representative P C Chacko has participated in only five debates. Stats also show that Shashi Tharoor, who was expected to be one of the loudest heard voices of the state at the Centre, has disappointing numbers to his name participating in only five debates and asking only 30 questions during his two years as a common member of the Lok Sabha. PRS is a unit of the Centre for Policy Research(CPR) New Delhi, which is an autonomous institution and one of 27 national social science research institutes recognied by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
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