PM Narendra Modi Lashes Out at Ministers Who Skipped Parliament Session, Says 'Give Me Names of Absentees'

New Delhi, July 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed anguish over ministers skipping Parliament duty despite being on the roster. PM Narendra Modi also asked his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prepare a list of ministers who skipped their Parliament duty. Ministers are kept on Parliament duty for two hours every day in both the Houses. If a minister remains absence, lawmaker(s) writes to the Prime Minister.

PM Modi told senior BJP leaders that he should be informed if ministers skip their Parliament duty, sources said. The Prime Minister also asked BJP MPs to focus on animal welfare and humanitarian issues in their respective constituencies. Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, PM Modi advised lawmakers to take up a cause of human sensitivity like eradication of leprosy or tuberculosis, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters. 'No Work From Home': PM Narendra Modi Bats For Discipline, Instructs Ministers To Be Punctual.

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. Earlier, PM Modi had reprimanded BJP MPs who missed the first few days of the Budget session. He had also pulled up lawmakers who had been skipping Parliament sittings or its debates. In a warning, he had said that the party was keeping a close watch on its MPs' attendance in Parliament.

At one parliamentary party meeting, PM Modi had warned lawmakers that their attendance would be taken into account when the party has to give out tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections. There had been occasions in the first term of PM Modi when sittings of parliament had to be deferred for want of quorum. The BJP had a clear majority in Lok Sabha.

After taking charge as Prime Minister for the second time, Modi has made a slew of instructions for central ministers and lawmakers of his party in a bid to instil discipline. In his first meeting with his Council of Ministers, he had asked them to be careful about their tweets and statements in public to avoid any controversy. He had also them to give up 'work from home' culture and reach office on time every morning.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2019 03:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).