TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Upset over the frequent suspensions of business of Lok Sabha because of the absence of BJP MPs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned them against skipping proceedings, saying that he would personally monitor their presence.
PM sounded the warning at the meeting of the BJP parliamentary party when he interrupted parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar to say that he will not tolerate absenteeism any more.
The parliamentary affairs minister started off the meeting by requesting members to attend the proceedings. “‘I humbly request members to attend the House…”, when the PM interrupted him. He said: “There is no need to make humble requests any more, as the basic reason for which members get elected is to attend Parliament.”
PM further said that while he can do a lot of things, he cannot file in for each of the absent BJP MPs, adding that he will be randomly checking on them by sending for five or six members daily during sessions. Modi said he will send in chits with the names of MPs he intended to call into his office any time when the House was on.
The PM’s stern visage left the audience in little doubt that he meant business.
Lack of enough numbers on the treasury benches has been a concern for the government. Many a time proceedings have been suspended because of lack of quorum when one-tenth of the total strength of the House is absent – a requirement which can easily be met considering that BJP has a majority of its own.
