Indian Parliament monsoon session: Former PM Manmohan Singh, 15 others remain absent
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is among the Rajya Sabha MPs who have sought the Upper House’s permission to remain absent for a part of or the entire monsoon session of Parliament
On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu said the lawmakers had sought leave of absence for health reasons. The requests have come amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides Manmohan Singh, two other senior Congress leaders — Oscar Fernandes and P Chidambaram — have also asked to be excused.
Other MPs who have sought leave include Parimal Nathwani of the YSR Congress Party; A. Navaneethakrishnan of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; KG Kenye of the Naga People’s Front; Banda Prakash and Lakshmikantha Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi; nominated MP Narendra Jadhav; Hishey Lachungpa of the Sikkim Democratic Front; Trinamool Congress’s Manas Ranjan Bhunia; Anbumani Ramadoss of the Paattali Makkal Katchi ; Sushil Kumar Gupta of the Aam Aadmi Party; and Mahendra Prasad of the Janata Dal (United).
