Modi hits out at Opposition
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Opposition would be unable to maintain its current Lok Sabha strength if the it continues with its strategy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a swipe at the Opposition for protesting against the suspension of lawmakers from Parliament, saying some are not destined to do constructive work, people aware of the matter said. Speaking at a closed-door meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary Party, he said these lawmakers seem “determined not to come back to the Lok Sabha”.
Seventy-eight Opposition lawmakers were on Monday suspended until at least the end of the winter session for pressing for statements from Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah and a discussion on the Parliament security breach last week. A total of 92 Opposition lawmakers have been suspended so far.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi said that Modi spoke about the breach and said those who believe in democracy should have condemned this incident, but some parties that lost the latest round of assembly elections were speaking in a language that supports the incident. “The Prime Minister said this is more dangerous.”
Modi said the Opposition would be unable to maintain its current Lok Sabha strength if it continues with this strategy. “The Prime Minister said some people focus on constructive work while as others seem inclined otherwise,” said a second person aware of the matter.
Modi said the Constitution has given lawmakers strength and people supported them. He added the Opposition’s agenda was to disrespect the Constitution and parliamentary powers.
Another person aware of the matter said Modi told the BJP lawmakers to not let the Opposition protests frazzle them. “He said as a party, the BJP will continue to work and respect the Constitution and parliamentary regulations and respect the mandate given to us,” the person quoted Modi as saying
