New Delhi, Dec. 1: Sonia Gandhi has expressed displeasure at the rampant absenteeism of Congress MPs in Parliament, particularly in the Lok Sabha, and sent out a message that such indiscreet acts won’t be tolerated.

Although the Congress chief often reminds the members of their parliamentary duties, she decided to send the warning because the party suffered a huge embarrassment after many of its MPs didn’t turn up during question hour yesterday even after listing queries.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal wrote to individual MPs to be present in the House and never stay away if their questions were coming up. Party chief whip Pawan Singh Ghatowar called up the members absent yesterday after listing questions. Most of them apologised and cited pressing engagements in their constituencies or in Delhi as the reason for their absence.

Publicly, though, Congress spokesperson Abhisek Singhvi tried to remove the impression that Sonia had sought the list of errant MPs and was contemplating punitive action. “A strong message has gone out. The members should be present in the House if their questions are listed. Let’s leave it at that. There is no question of action as no member likes to wilfully create such situations,” Singhvi said.

But party leaders privately said Sonia was upset that repeated requests for better attendance had gone unheeded. In the Lok Sabha yesterday, 17 questions, including 15 in a row, could not be taken up, leading to the collapse of the question hour for the first time in two decades.

Of the 34 MPs absent, seven were from the Congress. They are Harsh Vardhan, Madhu Goud Yakshi, Jhanshi Lakshmi Botcha, Antony Anto, Eknath Gaekwad, Shruti Choudhry, Arjanbhai Maadam and P.T. Thomas.

But more than the absenteeism, what has riled Sonia and other senior leaders is the impression that ministers and interested parties persuade MPs not to persist with their queries. The issue had surfaced during the cash-for-query scam in the last Lok Sabha.