Don’t deviate from good governance: Modi to MPs

In a bid to control negative fallout from recent hate speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned BJP parliamentarians not to cross the 'laxman rekha' while airing their views.

With his government facing criticism from the Opposition over the conversion row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked BJP lawmakers not to deviate from the main agenda of good governance and to not leave any scope for controversy through their remarks.

He said that some people may try to shift the focus away from the issues of development and good governance.

Modi’s remarks came when proceedings in the Rajya Sabha was stalled for another day over the conversion row.

Shatrughan Sinha, a BJP MP, said the PM was right in saying MPs shouldn’t cross the lakshman rekha (limits).

Another BJP MP said that the PM spoke about development and good governance being synonymous, where development may be about creating infrastructure but good governance meant an overall change in functioning.

He added that Modi insisted that their work should be “visible” on the ground.

The PM asked party MP’s to take part in the programmes to be held on ‘good governance day’ on December 25, which coincides with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley and parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu spoke on good governance and the current impasse created by the Opposition. “The Opposition does not want any discussion, but wants the destruction of the current session,” minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after the meeting.

Telecom minister Ravishankar Prasad told HT that the government was ready to discuss the issue of conversion in the Rajya Sabha immediately, but the Opposition was not allowing it.