Function as family, focus on conduct: Modi tells first-time MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked newly elected party lawmakers to focus on their conduct both in Parliament and in public as people were observing them and directed them to nurture their constituencies and spread the message of good governance.

After inaugurating a two-day workshop for over 150 newly-elected Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi told them to realise that with the transition from Opposition to treasury benches, they had bigger responsibilities on them.

Asking them not to voice their differences in public and function as a family, the PM also told them not to get disillusioned over small issues, as "there is no full stop in politics".

"To be a member of Parliament is an important thing and one must look at it seriously. Remember, people are observing your performance not only in the House, but also outside.”

"Our transition from Opposition to the treasury benches is not limited to moving of few seats to the other side. This is a significant transition and we must try to appreciate the meaning of this," Modi said at the meeting.

He also dwelt briefly on performance of MPs in Parliament and stressed on the importance of brevity and focus in Parliamentary speeches.

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Appealing to party MPs to eschew all kinds of negativism, he emphasised that their approach to the party has to be that of mutuality and fellow feeling. "We are a family and all are working for a common goal. Try to make new friends, learn from each other and develop a new collectivism," he said.

Reminding the party MPs that training for the BJP is not just a ritual, he said the party has a long tradition of capacity building.

Attacking the Congress, the prime minister asked the party MPs to highlight the fact that the policies nurtured by the Congress in the last few decades have not been able to mitigate the suffering of the people and solve their problems.

Taking a dig at those ridiculing such training camps for MPs, Modi said, "Lack of training in political establishment is a serious lacunae but unfortunately, many outside politics take efforts for human resource development very lightly and sometimes even try to ridicule such efforts."

Modi asked party MPs to develop a sense of mission towards their duties and asked them to study in order to have deeper understanding of various subjects.

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In his speech, Modi also gave tips to the MPs on how to maintain standards in public life and take the message of good governance to the people. He also guided them on how to nurture their respective constituencies and make use of the media, especially the social media in spreading the party message.

In his presidential remarks, Rajnath Singh said through such efforts, one can make the largest democracy in the world the finest democracy.

Party veteran L K Advani will speak on Sunday.

BJP leader Venakiah Naidu in his introductory remarks appealed to party MPs to understand the contemporary political climate and appreciate the huge burden of people's expectations. He asked them to ensure proper coordination with the party.

Naidu later told reporters that the workshop for the first time MPs of the party was organised to train them in parliamentary procedures and make them aware of the BJP ideology.

Naidu said the PM guided the MPs on how to "maintain standards in public life, how to take the message of good governance to the people, the message of BJP and in turn of Modi to people".

BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi, who is in charge of party affairs in Haryana, said the PM told them that their responsibilities as members of the ruling party are different and they should behave accordingly.

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Modi told them that they should treat the rulebook on Parliament proceedings like the Bhagavad Gita and should not step out of it. He also advised them not do anything in Parliament without the permission of the Chair.

Haryana BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma said Modi, who is also a first time MP, wanted to stay for the entire length of the workshop but could not do so as he had other responsibilities to fulfill in his new role as PM.

Earlier, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda received the PM at the helipad next to the venue. The BJP workshop comes ahead of the Budget session of Parliament starting next month.