Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 7 December, cautioned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs against skipping Parliament sessions, saying that if they don't transform themselves, there 'could be changes', Hindustan Times reported quoting sources.
Modi was chairing a BJP parliamentary party meeting at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi when he addressed the lawmakers, asking for their regular attendance at Parliament sessions.
Senior leaders such as BJP's National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, were present for the meeting.
According to a party functionary, Modi underlined that it is the people who have elevated the MPs to positions of power and therefore, "lawmakers should make it a priority to dutifully attend Parliament sessions", Hindustan Times reported.
Tuesday's gathering was the first time a parliamentary meeting took place outside the Parliament’s premises.
However, this is reportedly not the first time the PM has warned the lawmakers over this issue. Similar concerns were raised during the earlier sessions.
The PM's word of caution comes as BJP faces the ire of Opposition leaders over several issues, most recently the intelligence failure in Nagaland, which led to over 13 civilian deaths after the army opened fire at a truck.
The central government is also bearing witness to parliamentary turmoil owing to the suspension of 12 Opposition MPs for the remainder of the Winter Session.
The session is set to conclude on 23 December.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
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