PM Narendra Modi asks for names of BJP RS MPs absent from House on Monday

New Delhi: Taking serious note of absenteeism of BJP MPs during ongoing Parliament session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought names of those who were absent during the Rajya Sabha proceedings on Monday.

The Prime Minister was speaking at BJP's parliamentary party meeting before the start of Tuesday's proceedings in both the houses of parliament. Apart from absenteeism of party MPs, the Prime Minister also spoke about country's performance in the Tokyo Olympics and asked MPs to promote sports in their constituencies.

A party leader said, "Prime Minister was angry over absenteeism and said discipline and regularity in attending parliament is must for everyone. Despite repeated reminders from Prime Minister, many of ours Rajya Sabha members were absent yesterday during passing of important legislations."

Another leader present in the meeting pointed out that this is not the first time the Prime Minister expressed his concern about staying away from the House.

"The Prime Minister was very upset about members not attending the house. He specially mentioned that many MPs were missing from the Rajya Sabha when key legislation was placed for approval. He (Modi) asked for their names," he said.

The Rajya Sabha passed Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 on Monday for which the opposition moved a resolution to send it to the select committee. The opposition's move to send the bill to a select committee came as a surprise to the government as it was not prepared but with the help of other parties it could muster the number in the house.

Meanwhile, Lauding the performance of athletes in Tokyo Olympics, the Prime Minister asked everyone to give standing ovation to the achievements of Indian players.

"Prime Minister Modi also asked the Member of Parliaments to promote sports in their constituencies for next three months on a mission mode," a BJP MP present in the meeting said.

Another MP point out the meeting was completely dedicated to sports and athletes who performed very well in Tokyo.

"He also lauded the performance of India players in Olympics where they won seven medals," he said.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur made a presentation about India's performance in the Tokyo Olympics in the meeting. Sources said Union Minister Kiren Rijiju talked about India's preparations for the event.

"The Prime Minister asked the MPs to pay special attention on identifying sports talents in their constituencies," sources said.

The Prime Minister also asked MPs to focus on malnutrition status in their areas and create awareness about government welfare measures and programs to control it.