Modi asks ministers to be present in Parliament as per roster

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.

Asking ministers to stick to their roster duties, when they are meant to be present in one of the Houses as a government representative, Modi said they should carry out their work as assigned. He has in the past often expressed his displeasure at 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.

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

He told parliamentarians that they should take up a social cause or an issue of human sensitivity as a “mission” apart from carrying out their duties as members of Parliament so that they are remembered for their work

Modi spoke about disease like leprosy and TB and invoked Mahatma Gandhi. Asked to inaugurate a hospital for lepers, Gandhi had said that he would rather be invited to put a lock on it, Modi said, stressing on the need to eradicate the disease.

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 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. There is a “healthy competition” among authorities for developing these districts and MPs should work with officials to ensure development.

The prime minister said MPs can also associate themselves with animal welfare. Many countries have successfully controlled foot and mouth disease but it remains an issue in India, he added.

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 good response from people.