Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed unhappiness on Tuesday over lack of quorum often causing delay in Parliament’s functioning and asked BJP members to ensure their presence, saying he can call any of them any time.
Modi told them at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that attending Parliament is their basic responsibility and added wryly that he can do a lot of things but cannot be present in the Houses on their behalf.
The PM ticked off parliamentarians after parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar spoke about incidents of lack of quorum in both the Houses, including Monday, prompting the Prime Minister to say it should not be about requesting MPs to be present as it is their basic responsibility.
BJP members said he told them that it did not matter to him if they were in the Central Hall, a place to host joint sittings of Parliament where MPs often meet for informal conversation, as what is important is that they should be inside the Houses.
“I can call any of you any time,” he told them, a member said, adding that Modi sounded unhappy over absenteeism.
Modi had in the past also asked members to ensure their presence but this is the first time he has spoken about in such detail and talked tough.
