BJP warns MPs against making provocative remarks

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday warned BJP members of parliament from making provocative statements, saying it diverts the attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda.

"We should be careful with words and should steer clear from controversies," union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi quoted Naidu, the parliamentary affairs minister, as saying during the parliamentary party meeting.

"They (MPs) were told not to make provocative statements as it goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental agenda," Naqvi told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Bharatiya Janata party president Amit Shah, union ministers and the party's lawmakers.

Naqvi also took a dig at the Congress for its outcry on intolerance in the country, saying that the opposition is doing this for political gains.

"The government is discussing the issue as its attitude is tolerant and is always open to discuss any issue. The opposition is not able to digest the success of the Modi government," he said.

Naqvi claimed communal incidents have come down in the country in the recent weeks.

The BJP parliamentary party also discussed Modi's meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which is pending for clearance in parliament.