Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Theresa May rejected the resignation offer by Lord Michael Bates. Lord Bates had announced his shock resignation inside the House of Lords while apologising for being late by few minutes.
During the question session, Lord Bates had said that he was “ashamed” to not have been in his place to answer a question from Labour’s Baroness Lister.
While stressing that answering the questions has been his ‘privilege,’ Lord Bates had told the peers, “It’s been my privilege to answer questions from this despatch box on behalf of the government. I’ve always believed we should rise to the highest possible standards of courtesy and respect in responding on behalf of the government to the legitimate questions of the legislature.
“I’m thoroughly ashamed of not being in my place and therefore I shall be offering my resignation to the prime minister with immediate effect.”
His announced had left the peers present inside the House of Lords utterly shocked. A spokesperson for the British prime minister was quoted by the BBC as saying, “With typical sincerity, Lord Bates today offered to tender his resignation, but his resignation was refused as it was judged this was unnecessary.
“As a hard-working and diligent minister, it is typical of his approach that he takes his responsibilities to Parliament so seriously. He has received support from across the House and we are pleased he has decided to continue in his important roles at the Department for International Development and HM Treasury.”
Lord Bates’ video must serve an important lesson to Indian politicians, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who’s refused to address a single news conference in his tenure since assuming office in May 2014. Another important point from to drive home is Lord Bates calling it a privilege and not a pain to answer questions. The question is; how many Indian politicians would agree with him?