File photo of PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah at a party meeting.
Latecomers at the BJP's meeting of lawmakers held in Parliament House on Tuesdays will find themselves locked out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly ordered that doors of the hall where the meeting is held will be closed at 9.35 am sharp here-on.
At yesterday's meeting, about 20 of the BJP's 320 odd lawmakers sauntered in late at the Balayogi auditorium in the Parliament complex, sources said, prompting BJP leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu to announce at the end of the meeting that doors will henceforth be closed at 9.35.
The BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting has for years now been held every Tuesday at 9.30 am when Parliament is in session. The Prime Minister, a first-time Lok Sabha MP, arrives 10 minutes before the meeting begins and has reportedly instructed that punctuality and attendance are of high priority.
The Prime Minister was attending the meeting after a gap of a week; he was abroad last Tuesday. BJP chief Amit Shah attends the meeting once a month.
PM Modi, who has made clear since he took over that discipline is important, has set many ground rules for his party's politicians. Lawmakers have been told earlier that they cannot skip key party meetings and that attendance reports will be sent to the PM.
They have also been told they cannot seek permission for foreign trips when Parliament is in session.
Soon after the Modi government was formed, the Prime Minister had handed party MPs a list of dos and don'ts that included treating Parliament proceedings like the "Bhagwad Gita" and nurturing their constituencies.