Make ministers more responsible

Absenteeism amongst ministers is oh so common! It comes as no surprise to know that most of the ministers hardly attend office and even if they do, it is a very common sight to see them dozing off while the session is in progress.

Thus it came like good news to see the PM whipping the last against such missing-in-action ministers. He was furious to see that on Wednesday, 10 out of the 46 BJP MPs and 12 from allies were absent, that too when CPM members Sitaram Yechury and P Rajeeve moved the amendment and pressed for division of votes.  Like teachers seeking reasons from truant students, the PM has asked these absent ministers to give reasons for their absence. Next what- will we hear of these MPs being asked to become ‘murga’s’ like in school? Wonder how that would look and given the stiff and unhealthy ministers, will they even be able to stand straight for half hour ?

These are impractical solutions obviously but really, stiff punishment needs to be meted out to such ministers. Maybe suspend their coming to Parliament itself for the entire session; better still ban them from contesting elections – that will surely do the trick. And looking at things from another angle – what purpose do they serve anyway; they do not participate in any debate; their only work being thumping the table raising voices or tearing papers and vote when asked to. How are these ministers, absent or present, contribute to making of Govt policies? Actually that needs to be changed; they need to be made more responsible and accountable, mere attendance does not mean anything.