Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday warned MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party against skipping Parliament sessions, hinting at action against them after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, The Times of India reported.
“Aap apni marzi ki karte rahiye, mujhe jo karna hai, 2019 mein karoonga [You keep doing as you please, and I will act accordingly in 2019],” he said at the BJP’s last Parliamentary Board meeting for the Monsoon Session. “Don’t blame me later.”
He emphasised that the party mattered more than the MPs and also said that BJP National President Amit Shah’s presence in the Rajya Sabha will end the “atmosphere of holidaying”. Modi also praised Shah for completing three years as BJP chief, The Hindu reported. “It is not easy to run the party when it is in power,” he said.
BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya agreed with the prime minister, calling Shah a “strict boss”. “MPs will be on their toes,” he said.
On July 31, the BJP-led Centre was left embarrassed after the Opposition managed to pass a Bill in the Rajya Sabha because a large number of the party’s MPs were absent. With the central government outnumbered, and the Opposition had reconstituted the Backward Classes Commission and changed its composition with the amendments passed to the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill.
Shah had expressed his displeasure over nearly 30 MPs being absent from the Upper House and asked them to never repeat it again.
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