>Filmstar Raj Babbar was in Ladakh late last year, shooting for J.P. Dutta's film LoC, with another three films on the floor. Charting the careers of his children Aryan and Juhi, who are soon making their film debut, is also a matter of priority. Which, of course, leaves little time for sundry errands. Like attending the Lok Sabha, where he represents the important Agra constituency. Babbar attended the Lok Sabha for only five days during the 2001 winter session.

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TRACK RECORD 1. Sharad pawar (Lok Sabha) Party: NCP State: Maharashtra Attendance in session: 12 days 2. Sakshi maharaj (Rajya Sabha) Party: SP State: Uttar Pradesh Attendance: Nil 3. Raj babbar (Lok Sabha) Party: SP State: Uttar Pradesh Attendance: 5 days 4. Ashok chandel (Lok Sabha) Party: BSP State: Uttar Pradesh Attendance: Nil 5. Ambareesh (Lok Sabha) Party: Congress State: Karnataka Attendance: 7 days 6. Sahabuddin (Lok Sabha) Party: RJD State: Bihar Attendance: 7 days 7. D.N. Rao (Rajya Sabha) Party: Congress State: Tamil Nadu Attendance: Nil 8. K. Karunakaran (Lok Sabha) Party: Congress State: Kerala Attendance: 2 days 9. S.S.. Vaghela (Lok Sabha) Party: Congress State: Gujarat Attendance: 12 days 10. A.B.A Ghani Khan Chaudhury (Lok Sabha) Party: Congress State: West Bengal attendance: 12 days * Attendance recorded during the 2001 winter session between November 19 and December 21.

> It's over two years now that the President nominated Lata Mangeshkar to the Rajya Sabha. She did come for the swearing in ceremony. But Parliament has seen next to nothing of her since. India's nightingale has either been absent or on leave since.

Going by the indian parliamentarians' propensity to skip House sessions, one would presume it was a task of scant significance, stripped of the gravity usually associated with running a country. For, the presence of an increasing number of members in Parliament is beginning to appear more a chance occurrence than a foresworn duty. With a few exceptions like Shabana Azmi and Jayaprada Nahata, most of the Bollywood stars-be it Dilip Kumar, elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Congress ticket, or Shatrughan Sinha, angry with the bjp for non-inclusion in the Union Cabinet-are infrequent participants in the activities of Parliament. And it takes rare occasions like the December 13 attack to see an unusual surge in attendance.

"It's criminal for the MPs to shirk their constitutional obligation towards people for the sake of making money," says Vijay Kumar Malhotra, BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha, referring to the thriving alternative businesses or professions that keep the MPs busy. "The people's representatives should value the enormous amount of public money being spent on running Parliament," adds Fali S. Nariman, Rajya Sabha member and a constitutional expert.

The defaulters range from filmstars, artists and businessmen to people with police records and disenchanted or ill politicians. While it is social or professional commitments which keep most members away from Parliament, there are others who simply consider it a futile exercise. They attend Parliament once a month to ensure continuance of their membership. The MPs cannot remain absent for more than 60 days at a stretch during a Parliament session without seeking leave of absence from the House. Failure to do this can lead to their membership being terminated. But nobody except Barjinder Singh Hamdard-editor of the Ajeet Group of publications, elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Shiromani Akali Dal ticket in April 1998-has so far been disqualified for sustained absence. In February 2000, Hamdard informed party leaders that as his preoccupation with journalism did not allow him to attend Parliament, a new member should be elected in his place. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan moved a motion on December 21, 2000 under Article 101 of the Constitution seeking his disqualification, and the House unanimously adopted the resolution.

But it's not always as easy to disqualify an MP. Take cpi(m) Rajya Sabha member T.S. Gurung. Between 1987 and 1989, Gurung was absent for more than 80 days at a stretch. After several reminders by the Rajya Sabha lobby staff, the cpi(m) Parliamentary Party leader was asked to seek an explanation from the errant member. However, before he could furnish a reply, the Rajya Sabha secretariat received a message on January 13, 1989, intimating it of Gurung's assassination. Instead of a disqualification motion, an obituary motion was adopted on February 21.

Most parliamentarians don't mind giving a long rope to colleagues who often absent themselves from the House. Which is why nobody has so far objected to any motion seeking leave of absence even for seemingly trivial reasons like "personal work" and "family obligations". "It is a fraternity where every member looks out for the interests of every other member," says S.C. Kashyap, former general secretary of the Lok Sabha. For instance, no MP opposes a hike in pay or perks and there is complete unanimity on not condoning a reprimand to an MP, says Kashyap.

This is also the reason for growing lack of interest among the MPs towards parliamentary proceedings. Since quorum is considered by the presiding officer only at the beginning of the session-in the morning and again after lunch- most MPs tend to leave the House during the post-lunch session, and debates are often conducted with 25-30 MPs present in the House.

Though most of the party leaders express concern at lack of attendance in the House, not many are willing to offer concrete suggestions. So while Samajwadi Party (sp) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav suggests that attendance should be considered by various party leaders as a criterion while distributing party tickets, he is clear on why Babbar is an exception. "He has some genuine problems about which he has kept me abreast. How can we keep him from contesting when he is so popular?"

Sources in the sp, however, claim it was Yadav himself who asked Babbar to concentrate on films if only to help retain the glamour that came in handy attracting crowds and boosting the party's performance in the just concluded assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. "In any case, Babbar doesn't shoulder any party responsibilities so it's good for him to have returned to movies," says Balram Singh Yadav, an sp Lok Sabha member. Babbar, however, claims to visit his constituency twice a month and attend Parliament whenever he can. "I have fixed priorities and try to fulfil all my obligations," he says.

Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, on the other hand, claims, "At least 20 members of my party are always present in the House." Malhotra too says his party MPs are attendance-conscious as they know the prime minister is keeping a close watch. As for Congress' non-performance, Dasmunshi gives another excuse: "Whether in states or at the Centre, Congress leaders are not used to asking questions. They just like to reply."

BJP General Secretary Sanjay Paswan feels the MPs who do not raise their electorate's problems in Parliament should be thrown out of the party. Nariman suggests that the number of sessions an MP could skip should be reduced. Suggestions, however, are redundant in face of the nonchalance with which the MPs play truant. Rules, after all, are meant to be broken.