Shah lashes out at absentee BJP MPs

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah had taken a serious view of party members not attending the Rajya Sabha despite a whip and would seek a written explanation from the absentees, said party leaders on Tuesday. Shah gave a tongue-lashing to BJP members of Parliament (MP) at the party’s parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, a day after the government faced an embarrassing situation in the Upper House with a united Opposition pushing some changes to the Constitution Amendment Bill on Backward Classes. The BJP chief has asked party MPs to be present in both Houses during the session and warned them “not to repeat” (such conduct), said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar. Several Union ministers were among the MPs absent from the Rajya Sabha on Monday.