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Sachin Tendulkar granted leave by Parliament

by IBNS 11 Aug 2014, 09:56 am

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IBNS): Amid criticisms over his poor attendance in Parliament since he was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member, iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was granted leave by the House to skip the sessions.

 Tendulkar, under fire for not attending a single session of Parliament this year, has applied for permission to be on leave for professional and personal reasons from July 7  to Aug 14,when the session ends.  

Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien on Monday granted him the leave despite protest by Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agarwal and Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi.

Earlier on Friday, Sachin Tendulkar said  a 'medical emergency' in his family kept him away from the House.

"My absence in Delhi has been discussed rather a bit too much. I don't mean to disrespect any institution or any individual," Tendulkar said.

He said: " My elder brother underwent bypass surgery and I had to be by his side."

Tendulkar has not attended a  single session of Parliament this year. He even did not participate in any debates in the House.

 Both Tendulkar and Bollywood actress Rekha's poor attendance in the Parliament have been criticised by politicians.

In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.