New Delhi, June 12 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh on Tuesday moved a PIL in the Delhi High Court against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "absenteeism" from Parliament.

The court has listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed a day after estranged AAP MLA Kapil Mishra filed a similar petition against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"In the last four years, Prime Minister Modi have spoken merely 19 times in Parliament. He spoke just once on a government bill, five times he introduced his ministers, six times he spoke on thanksgiving motion and twice he participated in special discussions," Singh said.

"This is the same person who has done as many as 800 rallies in the last four years across the country," he added.

He said that despite the opposition's repeated pleas to the Prime Minister to speak on critical issues like demonetisation, price rise, farmers' suicide, unemployment, bank scams, mob lynching, women safety, etc., the Prime Minister remains mum.

"Every 14 days he speaks on the radio in Mann Ki Baat, but does not speak in Parliament. Despite being present in his office inside Parliament House premises, he does not come to the House," the AAP MP said.

Singh, in his PIL, has requested the high court to direct Prime Minister Modi to regularly attend Parliament and reply to the questions raised by MPs.

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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.

The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."

The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.

Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.

According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.

It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.

If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.

In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.

It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.

The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.

It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.

“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.