Modi pulls up ministers for skipping Parl duties

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has often pulled up BJP MPs for absenteeism during Parliament sessions, on Tuesday cautioned Union ministers against skipping their roster duties in both the Houses and told the party leadership that he should be informed if they skip their duty, sources said.

Speaking at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Modi also said that the ongoing session can be extended if it is necessary to pass the government's legislative agenda, the sources added.

The sources, however, added that extension of the session, which is scheduled to end on July 26, is not on the government's agenda as of now.

The Prime Minister, sources added, did not take kindly to ministers

shirking their roster duties, when they are meant to be present in one of the Houses as a government representative

He has in the past made his displeasure known over MPs' absence from Parliament when it is in session.

In a briefing after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters that Modi asked BJP MPs to nurse their constituencies by playing a leading role in its development and advised them to take up a cause of human sensitivity like eradication of leprosy or tuberculosis and water conservation.

The first impression is often the last, Modi told the MPs, a large number of them first-timers, as he asked them to work passionately for the development of their areas.

Joshi said the prime minister also noted that India has fixed a deadline of 2025 for eradicating TB against the global deadline of 2030 and asked MPs to work for its removal.

Modi also asked them to work with local authorities for the development of their constituencies.

He referred to aspirational districts, an official term for underdeveloped districts, and asked them to coordinate with authorities to boost their progress.

BJP working president J P Nadda spoke about the party's ongoing membership drive, with Modi asking MPs to join the campaign which, he added, has received a good response from people.

Even earlier this month, the Prime Minister had pulled up party MPs for skipping parliament.

At another parliamentary party meeting, he was furious over the conduct of MPs like veteran BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya's son Akash Vijayvargiya, who assaulted an official with a cricket bat and later showed no remorse.