BJP asks MPs to avoid provocative statements

NAIDU TELLS MEMBERS THAT REMARKS ARE BEING USED BY ANTI-PARTY FORCES

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs were yesterday asked to avoid making provocative statements amid the debate in Parliament over the issue of intolerance where controversial comments by some party leaders, including ministers, have come in handy for the opposition in its attack on the government.

In the first parliamentary party meeting during the Winter session, Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told members that provocative statements are being used by anti-BJP forces to deflect the attention from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the meeting that the economic growth of 7.4 per cent in the last quarter was a positive sign for the country and will help the government take development to the poor.

“MPs were told to speak with understanding and decorum. There is a need to avoid controversy. At a time when the Prime Minister is pushing ahead with his development agenda, many people are unable to digest it and any misstep will allow anti-BJP forces to work it to their benefit. We should avoid making provocative statements,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, quoting Naidu.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh asserted in parliament that “India is, was, and will be tolerant”. He told Lok Sabha the National Democratic Alliance government was being targeted in the name of intolerance.