Thiruvananthapuram: MPs (Member of Parliament) from Kerala are being praised for their commendable works. The people’s representatives from the state have gained attention by their impressive attendance in the lower house of the parliament and through their judicious use of the MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds.

Out of the total 729 private bills presented in the 17th Lok Sabha, 107 of them were presented by MPs from Kerala. While the national average of the attendance of MPs at the Lok Sabha stood at 79 percent, the average attendance of Kerala MPs was 83 percent. 

The report was published by a state agency called ‘Budget and Legislative Research’.

Among the MPs from the state, Thomas Chazhikadan tops the list when it comes to the utilisation of MPLADS funds. Out of the total Rs 17 crores, only Rs 2 lakhs is remaining in his quota. Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor has only Rs 4 lakhs more to spend from his MP funds. 

Adoor Prakash, Rajmohan Unnithan, K Muraleedharan, AM Ariff, Anto Antony and Benny Behanan are among the other MPs from Kerala who have spent majority of their funds. 

On the other hand, Kodikunnil Suresh is the Kerala MP with the maximum amount of unused funds, he has Rs 6.24 crores remaining in his quota.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is yet to spend Rs 1.25 crores from his allotted funds. Other MPs from Kerala with substantial amounts remaining with them include Dean Kuriakose, VK Sreekandan, ET Mohammed Basheer, Ramya Haridas, NK Premachandran, TN Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Abdussamad Samadani and MK Raghavan. 

While the national average for number of questions raised by Lok Sabha MPs at the Parliament stood at 210, the average number of questions raised by Kerala MPs in the lower house of the parliament in the time period was way higher, an average of 268 questions-a total of 5,346 questions.