Six BJP MLAs topped in attending the sessions of the Rajasthan Assembly, which held its 11 sessions since the 2013 election and sat for an average of 28 days every year.
The ruling BJP members were also among the top four who asked the maximum number of questions on different subjects during the sittings of the House.
A report card of MLAs, released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Rajasthan Election Watch (REW) here on Monday before this year’s Assembly election, said though the questions on education, medical & health, public construction and energy were asked in large numbers, a lesser number of questions were raised on revenue, Panchayati Raj, water and urban development.
“No questions were asked on mob lynching of dairy farmers, violence against women and the atrocities against Dalits, which have brought a bad name to Rajasthan,” REW coordinator Renuka Pamecha said. Besides, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is an MLA from Jodhpur’s Sardarpura, and Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi did not ask a single question during the 14th Assembly’s entire tenure.
A total of 152 Bills were tabled in the Assembly and 145 of them were passed. Among the MLAs facing criminal cases, the BJP registered an increase from 8% in 2008 to 16% in 2013 and Congress from 16% to 24% in this period. Thirty-four MLAs in the 14th Assembly have declared criminal cases against themselves and 18 of them are facing serious criminal charges, including murder and kidnapping.
ADR national coordinator Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Anil Verma said the increasing number of political leaders with the criminal background and getting elected to the State Assemblies and Parliament was a cause for concern all over the country.
‘Close monitoring’
Social activist Nikhil Dey said the electoral process needed to be closely monitored in order to ensure that the political parties did not give tickets to the persons with criminal background. He demanded that the BJP MLA from Manohar Thana, Kanwar Lal Meena, should be not fielded in the upcoming Assembly election again in view of the complaints of heinous crimes made against him.
