Chennai: Data compiled by the Sansad Ratna Awards committee has revealed that the performance of Tamil Nadu MPs was significantly lower when compared to other southern states.
In the 16th Lok Sabha till the end of the Budget Session in 2018, the 39 Tamil Nadu MPs had initiated 36.4 debates, asked 367 questions and initiated zero private member bills whereas its neighbour, Kerala, with 21 members had initiated 73.8 debates, 351.1 questions were asked and 3.2 private members bills initiated.
The Sansad Ratna Awards committee took the three markers as criteria to choose its awardees.
However, the state’s performance was appreciable when compared with the national average of 34.8 debates initiated, 229 questions asked and 1.6 private member bills initiated.
The committee noted that Tamil Nadu’s performance in the 16th Lok Sabha was better when compared to the 15th Lok Sabha.
A special mention of the top 5 Tamil Nadu MPs has also been recorded. According to the committee, S R Vijayakumar was the topper among Tamil Nadu MPs. He has initiated 58 debates and posed a total of 737 questions. This, while having an attendance of 78 per cent. T Radhakrishnan, J Jayavardhan, T;G Venkatesh Babu and P R Sundaram followed on the list.
