Several BJP MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha were caught in sting operations to expose MP local area development scheme (MPLAD) and ‘cash-for-query’ scams.
Learning from its experience in the last Lok Sabha, when it had to face embarrassment due to the inexperience of its young MPs, the BJP has decided to hold an orientation/training programme for party first-timers in the 15th Lok Sabha.
Several BJP MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha were caught in sting operations to expose MP local area development scheme (MPLAD) and ‘cash-for-query’ scams. It is another matter that the BJP had conducted a similar training programme for MPs and their personal assistants (PAs) in Thane, Maharashtra, in 2004 as well. This year’s workshop, again in Thane, will be in addition to the one being conducted by parliament.
Almost half the BJP MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha are first-timers and the party is concerned about their conduct and performance. While the programme is still about a month away, senior leader LK Advani has been cautioning BJP MPs about the big bad world of politics in Delhi.
At a party meeting on Tuesday, he warned the MPs to stay away from corporate wars and not become unwitting pawns and lobbyists for business houses. He specifically asked them not to agree to ask questions at the instance of business houses and told them to carefully scrutinise the antecedents of people before enrolling them as PAs.
Recommending an orientation programme for freshers, Advani spoke of the lack of ethical conduct by several BJP members in the 14th Lok Sabha, leading to many disqualifications. Six BJP MPs were disqualified in the ‘cash-for-questions’ scandal and one in a human trafficking case.
Earlier in June, Advani had asked the MPs to maintain “purity in conduct”. He told them that facilities such as official houses or cars were for their own use and should not be sublet or rented out for financial gains. This kind of behaviour sullies reputation, he said.
Advani said there were a lot of people in Delhi who try to establish contact with MPs, particularly new ones, “and this usually begins with sending cars to airports to receive or drop them”. The attention gives MPs an inflated sense of importance, Advani said, asking freshers to be on guard.
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