Lata Mangeshkar never took any allowances during her six-year tenure as Rajya Sabha MP
Lata Mangeshkar, after intermittent scares about her deteriorating health, breathed her last on Sunday morning. Besides being the singing legend she was, Mangeshkar was also part of the Rajya Sabha for six years, her term being famous for not taking any allowances.
Supported by the BJP, she was elected on November 22, 1999, and was part of the House till November 21, 2005. Following an RTI, it was revealed that during her term, she never touched the allowances and checks she received as a parliamentarian. The document showed that all payments that were made to Mangeshkar from the Pay Accounts Office were returned.
Lata Mangeshkar’s tenure, however, was infamous for her being absent from the House. In the six years, she could only make it to the House for 12 days — and that too not 12 full days.
In those six years, she asked just one, unstarred, question — on derailment of trains! “Whether it is a fact that the incidents of derailment of trains on various sections have been on the increase; if so, the number of train derailment incidents since the beginning of the year 2000; the estimated loss suffered by the Railways as a consequence thereof; what measures have been taken by government to prevent such incident?”
As she had revealed during an interview, the singer always felt that she was a misfit for the Parliament. “My tenure in the Rajya Sabha was anything but happy. I was reluctant to be inducted into Parliament. In fact, I pleaded with those who urged me into the Rajya Sabha to let me off… What did I know about politics?” she had stated.
“In fact, I pleaded with those who urged me into Rajya Sabha to let me off. Though I had the highest regard for (Bharatiya Janata Party leader) L K Advaniji and (former Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji, I still do — I am not affiliated to any political party,” she had added, according to News18.
Often criticized for not raising the issues of the industry she represented, she had explained: “I was often asked why I didn’t address problems related to the film industry in parliament. In my defence, I can only say I was not connected with the entertainment industry to the extent that I could raise my voice against its problems. I am a singer, not a speaker. Maybe Rekha, who’s now in parliament, would be better able to bring up the problems that plague the film industry.”
Mangeshkar was born in Indore in a Sikh neighbourhood and raised in Kolhapur in a musical family. Her father Master Dinanath Mangeshkar was a musician from Gwalior gharana who ran a drama company and was Lata’s first guru.
