Modi, BJP top brass stress good performance for first-time MPs

Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saturday appealed to the party's first-time parliamentarians to develop a sense of mission towards their duties and give their best by ensuring "orderly" conduct in parliament and developing "fellow feeling" amongst themselves.

"To be a member of parliament is an important thing and one must look at it seriously. Remember, people are observing your performance in the house and even outside," a BJP statement quoted Modi as saying.

The prime minister was speaking at the Bharatiya Janata Party's two-day orientation meet in Surajkund in neighbouring Haryana.

"Our transition from opposition to treasury is not limited to moving a few feet to the other side. This is a significant transition and we must try to appreciate the meaning of this," Modi said, addressing BJP's first-time MPs from both houses of parliament.

BJP president Rajnath Singh urged the MPs to ensure an "orderly" and "disciplined" conduct in the house.

He lauded the efforts of party's training cell as well as parliamentary wing and expressed confidence that such efforts alone can make this largest democracy in the world into also the finest democracy.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu appealed to the MPs to understand the contemporary political climate and appreciate the huge burden of people's expectations.

On the same lines, Modi appealed to them to eschew every kind of negativism, and develop "mutuality" and "fellow feeling".

"We are a family and all are working for a common goal. Try to make new friends, learn from each other and develop a new collectivism," he told the MPs.