How We=20
Did It=20
To evaluate the overall =
performance of=20
individual MPs, Satark Nagarik Sangathan (SNS) used information =
obtained=20
under the RTI Act and information available with the government. =
The=20
report cards of the MPs in these pages have been arrived at on the =
basis=20
of three key parameters:=20
Individual Performance: Their attendance, the number of=20
questions raised by them, their participation in Lok Sabha =
proceedings,=20
and the number of bills introduced by them in 2007.=20
Team Performance: Their membership in parliamentary =
standing=20
committees from 2004 to 2008, and the number of committee meetings =
attended by them in 2007.=20
Funds Utilisation: Under the Members of Parliament Local =
Area=20
Development Scheme (MPLADS), each MP can recommend development =
works of up=20
to Rs 2 crore per year in their constituency. We have an analysis =
of=20
projects sanctioned between May 2004 and March 2008. The report =
cards also=20
provide information on the educational qualifications and criminal =
antecedents, if any, of the MPs compiled from the affidavit and =
Form 26=20
filed by them at the time of the 2004 elections.
Why We Did =
It=20
We live in an era of greater =
transparency=E2=80=94and accountability. The corridors of power, =
where players=20
once operated behind an opaque maze of rules, have to adjust to a =
new=20
atmosphere of public scrutiny. With tools like the Right to =
Information=20
(RTI) Act now at the disposal of the public, governance can be =
closely=20
monitored. And the information can be shared and disseminated =
widely,=20
quickly and inexpensively.=20
The performance and record of our Members of Parliament is a =
key=20
barometer of the health of our democracy and its law-making =
process.=20
That=E2=80=99s why Outlook, working in collaboration with =
Satark Nagarik=20
Sangathan, a Delhi-based NGO, has put together this booklet which =
throws=20
light on how some of our elected members performed. Or did not.=20
The objective behind this Reader Service is twofold: one, to =
make the=20
performance and record of key MPs a matter of national record, not =
just=20
local importance; two, to ensure that readers and citizens have a =
lasting=20
document to gauge the performance of some prominent MPs:=20
- Cabinet Ministers=20
- MPs From Political Families=20
- Bollywood MPs=20
- MPs In Prison=20
- Women MPs=20
- MPs Below 40 Years=20
- Prominent MPs
Epilogue=20
Like with mutual funds, in =
politics,=20
past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Still, we hope =
that=20
this Reader Service will give you a better insight into the track =
record=20
of some of our prominent MPs. And an indication of what to expect =
and=20
demand in future.=20
The data is quite revealing. Some parliamentarians frequently =
absented=20
themselves from the House and did not raise any =
questions=E2=80=94starred or=20
unstarred. Others showed poor attendance at the meetings of the =
various=20
House committees they were members of. A good deal of the Lok =
Sabha=E2=80=99s=20
business and groundwork, including planning, charting out =
programmes and=20
creation of new laws is carried out in such committees. It speaks =
poorly=20
of members who abdicated their responsibility.=20
There were those who did not even attend a single meeting. Some =
of=20
those who fared poorly in Parliament have been denied tickets. But =
unfortunately, performance is not always the criterion when =
political=20
parties field their MPs for a second term.=20
We hope that the members of the 15th Lok Sabha will realise =
that=20
somebody is watching=E2=80=94and counting.