Modi ticks off BJP members in Parliament after Monday afternoon's proceedings had to be delayed for want of quorum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chided his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs for not attending parliamentary proceedings, thereby giving tough time to presiding officers in maintaining requisite quorum. Modi ticked off his MPs after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anant Kumar complained about incidents of lack of quorum in both the Houses, including on Monday, when proceedings in the afternoon had to delayed due to absence of large number of MPs.
Statistics shows of the 543 members in Lok Sabha, just 94 or 17.37 per cent were present in the House between January 1 and March 17. The current Budget session during this period had 13 sittings. Modi told MPs at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that attending Parliament is their basic responsibility. He even added wryly that he can do a lot of things but cannot be present in the Houses on their behalf.
According to BJP members, the PM said that it did not matter to him if they were in the central hall or spending time chatting as long as they also attend to the parliamentary proceedings. The central hall is a place during the sessions, where MPs meet informally. "I can call any of you any time," a member quoted Modi as saying.
Modi had in the past too asked members to ensure their presence, but this is the first time he has spoken about it in such detail and talked tough.
Anant Kumar said Modi also laid out a 'road map' for the party as it gears up to celebrate its foundation day on April 6 and Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14. Modi told the MPs to ensure that the party's primary members, numbering over 11 crore, should be asked to join panchayat and municipal-level meetings on April 6. All MPs, ministers and party functionaries will participate in these meetings and speak on the government's achievements, Kumar told reporters. Modi also asked them to participate in at least one hour of cleanliness drive. Party members in the evening will take out a procession in the evening.
The BJP will be observing a host of events between April 6 and April 16 in which it will highlight how the Modi government has worked to realise Dr Ambedkar's idea of a 'samta-mukt samaj' (equal society) with its schemes like Jan Dhan and Mudra among others. The prime minister also asked them to reach out to small traders and workers, like washermen, to popularise Bhim App, a digital payment medium, saying it can help them a lot in making financially more capable.
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