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Angry Sonia cracks the whip; seeks out absentee MPs
After the embarrassment in Lok Sabha, an angry Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday sought the list of party MPs who remained absent during voting on Constitution Amendment Bill on Lokpal amid moves to issue show cause notices to them.
Sources said party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who had floated the idea of granting constitutional status to Lokpal, is also furious after the bill failed to get through in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday because of want of requisite numbers.
According to preliminary details, 16 MPs of the United Progressive Alliance were absent.
Of them, six Congress MPs are from Gujarat, including Union Minister Dinsha Patel who was at home in connection with the marriage of his grand daughter.
Among others who were said to be absent were K Sudhakaran (Kerala), Hamdullah Sayeed (Lakshadweep), K Raj Gopal Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) and M Rajamohan Reddy.
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Angry Sonia cracks the whip; seeks out absentee MPs
Reddy is a supporter of YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy and has already submitted his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
Three MPs of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and two of Trinamool Congress were also absent.
The sources said Sonia Gandhi was angry and has tasked party MPs Girija Vyas and Sandeep Dikshit to prepare the list and find out the reasons for the absence.
A show cause notice would be issued to the absentee MPs, they said.
With regard to action against the absentee MPs of allies, the sources said it was for the leadership of respective parties to decide.
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Angry Sonia cracks the whip; seeks out absentee MPs
Patel, Minister of Mines, said he was absent from the House on Tuesday as he was busy with the marriage on December 26-27.
"I had written a letter to P K Bansal in this regard," he told media persons in New Delhi.
He said a total of six MPs from Gujarat were absent from the House.
Patel said another of his colleague from the state could not come as his son-in-law had died in an accident.
The minister, however, said even if they were present, it would not have made any difference in the voting on constitutional amendment as the number of votes in favour of the Bill would have been only 253.
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